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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Coal Hollow (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Coal Hollow. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Name Variations for Coal Hollow ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Coal Hollow: Coal Holw. (or less commonly used: Coal Hlw. or Coal Hllw.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Coal Hollow. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Coal Hollow.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Coal Hollow is located in Bureau County.

To see how the shape of Illinois' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Bureau County: Henry, La Salle, Lee, Marshall, Putnam, Stark & Whiteside.

Below are the counties that are near Coal Hollow. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Coal Hollow:

  • Bureau County     (The home county of Coal Hollow)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coal Hollow, with the one closest to Coal Hollow listed first.
    • Hollowayville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Hollowayville is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollowayville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
    • Seatonville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Malden
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • De Pue
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • De Pue is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Pue
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,665 people
    • Ottville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Ottville is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottville
    • Dover
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Bureau Junction
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Bureau Junction is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bureau Junction
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 297 people
      • Bureau Junction has also been known as:
      • Bureau
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bureau Junction <1>
    • Princeton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Zearing
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Zearing is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zearing
    • Ladd
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Ladd is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladd
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,184 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ladd <1>
    • Greenoak
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Greenoak is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenoak
    • Cherry
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Arlington
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Henry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coal Hollow, with the one closest to Coal Hollow listed first.
    • Annawan
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Hooppole
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Kewanee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • La Salle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coal Hollow, with the one closest to Coal Hollow listed first.
    • Peru
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Peru is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,612 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peru <1>
    • Cedar Point
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • La Salle
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Oglesby
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Troy Grove
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Deer Park
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Deer Park is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Park
    • North Utica
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • North Utica is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Utica
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,333 people
    • Utica
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Waltham
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Waltham is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltham
    • Mendota
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Tonica
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Priscilla ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Priscilla is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Priscilla
    • Triumph
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coal Hollow, with the one closest to Coal Hollow listed first.
    • Sublette
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Amboy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • West Brooklyn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Inlet
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Inlet is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inlet
    • Lee Center
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Compton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Harmon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • The Burg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • The Burg is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Burg
    • Eldena
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Radley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Radley is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radley
    • Paw Paw
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Livingston County
    • Munster
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Munster is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munster
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coal Hollow, with the one closest to Coal Hollow listed first.
    • Henry
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Henry is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,230 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henry <1>
    • Lacon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Lacon is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,713 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacon <1>
    • Sparland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Varna
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Camp Grove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Hopewell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Hopewell is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 394 people
    • Evans ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Evans is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
    • La Rose
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Toluca
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Wenona
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coal Hollow, with the one closest to Coal Hollow listed first.
    • Hennepin
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Mark
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Granville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Putnam
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Standard
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • McNabb
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Palatine
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Palatine is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Palatine
    • Magnolia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Stark County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coal Hollow, with the one closest to Coal Hollow listed first.
    • Bradford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Castleton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Osceola
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Osceola is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
    • Modena
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Modena is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modena
    • Wyoming
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Speer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Whiteside County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coal Hollow, with the one closest to Coal Hollow listed first.
    • Deer Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Tampico
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Woodford County
    • Washburn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Coal Hollow, see our County-by-County Page for Coal Hollow.

Cemeteries Near Coal Hollow ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Coal Hollow.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Coal Hollow - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Coal Hollow covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Coal Hollow, with the one closest to Coal Hollow listed first.

  • Searl Ridge Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • De Pue Village Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Artestian Well Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • St. Johns Lutheran Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Evangelical & Reformed Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Hollowayville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Dover Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Prairie Repose Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Malden Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Jenkins - Green Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (243 more) ...
    • Elm Lawn Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Bereans Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Woodlawn - Stoner Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<2>

While we didn't find Coal Hollow in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Coal Hollow.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Coal Hollow, with the one closest to Coal Hollow listed first.

  • Hollowayville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Hollowayville is located in Bureau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollowayville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
  • De Pue
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • De Pue is located in Bureau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Pue
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,665 people
  • Seatonville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Malden
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Bureau Junction
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Bureau Junction is located in Bureau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bureau Junction
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 297 people
    • Bureau Junction has also been known as:
    • Bureau
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bureau Junction <1>
  • Dover
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Princeton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Ladd
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Ladd is located in Bureau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladd
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,184 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ladd <1>
  • Greenoak
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Greenoak is located in Bureau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenoak
  • Hennepin
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Tiskilwa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Spring Valley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Arlington
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Florid
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Florid is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florid
    • Granville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Coal Hollow. See our List of 1890's Communities around Coal Hollow.

Newspapers Published in Coal Hollow ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 47 newspapers that have been published in the area around Coal Hollow.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Coal Hollow, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Coal Hollow.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Coal Hollow:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Coal Hollow, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Coal Hollow) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.