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 Denver (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 Denver. 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 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.
Denver is located in Hancock 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 Hancock County: Lee (IA), Adams, Henderson, McDonough, Schuyler, Clark (MO) & Lewis (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Denver. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Denver:
- Hancock County (The home county of Denver)
- The following are listed by their distance from Denver, with the one closest to Denver listed first.
- Bentley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Bentley is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bentley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 32 people
- Bowen
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- West Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- West Point is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 165 people
- Basco
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Chili
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Chili is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chili
- Carthage
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Augusta
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Plymouth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Elvaston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ferris
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Sutter
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Sutter is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutter
- Joetta
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Joetta is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joetta
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Denver, with the one closest to Denver listed first.
- La Prairie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Loraine
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Golden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Blacks
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Blacks is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blacks
- Lima
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mendon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Camp Point
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Coatsburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Marcelline
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Marcelline is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcelline
- Paloma
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Clayton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Columbus
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Columbus is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 96 people
- Brown County
- The following are listed by their distance from Denver, with the one closest to Denver listed first.
- Mound Station
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Mound Station is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound Station
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Timewell
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Sterling
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hersman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hersman is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hersman
- Ripley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ripley is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Denver, with the one closest to Denver listed first.
- Lomax
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Terre Haute
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Terre Haute is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terre Haute
- Iowa Junction
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Iowa Junction is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Junction
- McDonough County
- The following are listed by their distance from Denver, with the one closest to Denver listed first.
- Colmar
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Colmar is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colmar
- VIshnu Springs ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- VIshnu Springs is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for VIshnu Springs
- Tennessee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Colchester
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Blandinsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Doddsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Doddsville is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doddsville
- East Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- East Village is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
- Lamone Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lamone Village is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamone Village
- Macomb
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- University Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- University Village is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Village
- Industry
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Sciota
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Schuyler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Denver, with the one closest to Denver listed first.
- Huntsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Camden
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wayland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Wayland is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
- Littleton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Rushville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Lee County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Denver, with the one closest to Denver listed first.
- Keokuk
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Buena Vista ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Buena Vista is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Sandusky
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Sandusky is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
- Galland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Galland is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galland
- Montrose
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Madison
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jeffersonville ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jeffersonville is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeffersonville
- New Boston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- New Boston is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Boston
- Vincennes
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Vincennes is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vincennes
- Wever
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Argyle
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Charleston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Charleston is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Clark County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Denver, with the one closest to Denver listed first.
- Alexandria
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Saint Francisville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Francisville is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Francisville
- Wayland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Wayland is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Saint Patrick
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Saint Patrick is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Patrick
- Lewis County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Denver, with the one closest to Denver listed first.
- Canton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- La Grange
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Denver, see our County-by-County Page for Denver.
Cemeteries Near Denver ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Denver.
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 Denver - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Denver covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Denver, with the one closest to Denver listed first.
- Denver Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Graham Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Payne Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Old Sixteen Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Bethel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Browning Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Ramsey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Scott Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Harmony Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- West Point Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bowen Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (450 more) ...
- Groves Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Morgan Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
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 Denver had a population of 126 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Denver, with the one closest to Denver listed first.
- Bentley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Bentley is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bentley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 32 people
- West Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- West Point is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 165 people
- Bowen
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Basco
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Stillwell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Stillwell is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stillwell
- Carthage
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Woodville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Woodville is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Augusta
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Mary
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Mary is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Mary
- Chatton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Chatton is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatton
- Plymouth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Elvaston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Elderville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Elderville is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elderville
- Loraine
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- La Prairie
(11 miles [17.7 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 Denver. See our List of 1890's Communities around Denver.
Newspapers Published in Denver ...
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 86 newspapers that have been published in the area around Denver.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Denver, 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 Denver.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Denver:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Hancock County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- Brown County
- Henderson County
- McDonough County
- Schuyler County
- Lee County
- Clark County
- Lewis 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 Denver, 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- Denver) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |