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 Dana (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 Dana. 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.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
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 east contained birth and death records; the county to the south 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.
Dana is located in La Salle 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 La Salle County: Bureau, DeKalb, Grundy, Kendall, Lee, Livingston, Marshall, Putnam & Woodford.
Below are the counties that are near Dana. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dana:
- La Salle County (The home county of Dana)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dana, with the one closest to Dana listed first.
- Leeds
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Leeds is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds
- Rutland
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Streator
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Kangley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Kangley is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kangley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
- Lostant
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lostant is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lostant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 477 people
- Lostant has also been known as:
- Lost Ant
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lostant <1>
- Leonore
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Kernan
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kernan is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kernan
- Priscilla ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Priscilla is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Priscilla
- Tonica
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Grand Ridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Ransom
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Vermilionville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Vermilionville is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermilionville
- Cedar Point
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Bureau County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dana, with the one closest to Dana listed first.
- Spring Valley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dalzell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Grundy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dana, with the one closest to Dana listed first.
- Kinsman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Highland Town ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Highland Town is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Town
- Verona
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Livingston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dana, with the one closest to Dana listed first.
- Long Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ancona
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Flanagan
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Munster
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Munster is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munster
- Coalville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Coalville is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
- Graymont
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cornell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Vermilion City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Vermilion City is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermilion City
- Missal
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Missal is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missal
- Pontiac
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Blackstone
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cayuga
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Cayuga is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga
- Budd
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Budd is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Budd
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dana, with the one closest to Dana listed first.
- Wenona
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Evans ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Evans is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
- Toluca
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- La Rose
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Varna
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Henry
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Lacon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Hopewell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Hopewell is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 394 people
- Sparland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- McLean County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dana, with the one closest to Dana listed first.
- Gridley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Meadows
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Meadows is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
- Chenoa
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Weston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Weston is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
- Lexington
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Hudson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Carlock
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Towanda
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Yuton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Yuton is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuton
- Normal
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Peoria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dana, with the one closest to Dana listed first.
- Chillicothe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Rome
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dana, with the one closest to Dana listed first.
- Magnolia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Palatine
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Palatine is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Palatine
- McNabb
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Standard
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Granville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mark
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hennepin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Putnam
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Tazewell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dana, with the one closest to Dana listed first.
- Washington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Deer Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Woodford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dana, with the one closest to Dana listed first.
- Minonk
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Woodford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Woodford is located in Woodford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
- Benson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Panola
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Panola is located in Woodford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
- El Paso
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Roanoke
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Secor
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Washburn
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Kappa
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Kappa is located in Woodford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kappa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
- Eureka
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Metamora
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Congerville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Goodfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Dana, see our County-by-County Page for Dana.
Cemeteries Near Dana ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dana.
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 Dana - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Dana covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Dana, with the one closest to Dana listed first.
- Bauman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Long Point Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Minonk Twp. Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Patrick Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Patricks Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Petri Evangelical Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Rutland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Center Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ancona Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Baughman Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Earp Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (257 more) ...
- Nigh Chapel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Morris Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Springer Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Dana had a population of 221 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Dana had a population of 149 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Dana, with the one closest to Dana listed first.
- Leeds
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Leeds is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds
- Long Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Minonk
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Rutland
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Flanagan
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ancona
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Garfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Garfield is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
- Wenona
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Reading
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Reading is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
- Graymont
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Coalville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Coalville is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
- Toluca
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Benson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cornell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Manville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Manville is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Dana. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dana.
Newspapers Published in Dana ...
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 87 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dana.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dana, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dana.
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 Dana:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to La Salle County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bureau County
- Grundy County
- Livingston County
- Marshall County
- McLean County
- Peoria County
- Putnam County
- Tazewell County
- Woodford County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Illinois
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> | The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com. |
| <3> | 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 Dana, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Dana) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |