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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 Dickerson (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 Dickerson. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Dickerson is located in Champaign 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 Champaign County: Douglas, Edgar, Ford, McLean, Piatt & Vermilion.

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

  • Champaign County     (The home county of Dickerson)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dickerson, with the one closest to Dickerson listed first.
    • Lotus
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Lotus is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lotus
    • Foosland
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Fisher
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Fisher is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,911 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fisher <1>
    • Dewey
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Lake of the Woods
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Lake of the Woods is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake of the Woods
    • Mahomet
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Prospect
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Prospect is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect
    • Thomasboro
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Rantoul
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Bondville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Seymour
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Staley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Staley is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staley
  • De Witt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dickerson, with the one closest to Dickerson listed first.
    • Farmer City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Watkins
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Watkins is located in De Witt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watkins
    • Parnell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Parnell is located in De Witt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnell
    • Fullerton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Fullerton is located in De Witt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fullerton
    • De Witt
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • De Witt is located in De Witt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Witt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
    • Weldon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Birkbeck
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Birkbeck is located in De Witt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birkbeck
    • Lane
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Wapella
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Clinton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Ford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dickerson, with the one closest to Dickerson listed first.
    • Proctor
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Proctor is located in Ford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor
    • Gibson City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Gibson City is located in Ford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,275 people
      • Gibson City has also been known as:
      • Gibson
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gibson City <1>
    • Elliott
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Garber
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Garber is located in Ford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garber
    • Sibley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Melvin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Paxton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Roberts
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Iroquois County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dickerson, with the one closest to Dickerson listed first.
    • Loda
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Loda is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loda <1>
    • Buckley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Thawville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Livingston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dickerson, with the one closest to Dickerson listed first.
    • Strawn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Fairbury
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Forrest
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Chatsworth
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • McLean County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dickerson, with the one closest to Dickerson listed first.
    • Bellflower
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Laurette
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Laurette is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurette
    • Kumler
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Kumler is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kumler
    • Saybrook
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Glen Avon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Glen Avon is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Avon
    • Arrowsmith
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Ellsworth
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Le Roy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Anchor
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Colfax
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Cropsey
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Cooksville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Piatt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dickerson, with the one closest to Dickerson listed first.
    • Mansfield
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • White Heath
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • De Land
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Monticello
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Cisco
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bement
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Milmine
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Vermilion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dickerson, with the one closest to Dickerson listed first.
    • Armstrong
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Rankin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Dickerson ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dickerson.

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 Dickerson - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Naylor Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naylor Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Naylor Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the west of Fisher.
    • The Naylor Cemetery has also been known as:
    • United Brethren Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #107120 <3>
  • Shiloh Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Willowbrook Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Dunkard Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Knife Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knife Cemetery
    • The Knife Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Knife - Stout Cemetery
    • Pusey Cemetery
    • Pusey / Knife Cemetery
    • Stout Cemetery
  • East Bend Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bend Cemetery
    • The East Bend Cemetery has also been known as:
    • East Bend Memorial Gardens
    • East Bend Mennonite Cemetery
  • Beekman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Bellflower Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Blue Ridge Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Phillippe Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillippe Cemetery
    • The Phillippe Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Methodist Episcopal Cemetery
  • Jersey Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jersey Cemetery
    • The Jersey Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Jersey Presbyterian Cemetery
  • Continue List   (210 more) ...
    • Mahomet Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahomet Cemetery
      • The Mahomet Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Middletown Cemetery
      • Village Cemetery
    • Riverside Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Riverside Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)

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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Dickerson had a population of 17 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Foosland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Osman
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Osman is located in McLean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osman
  • Fisher
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Fisher is located in Champaign County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,911 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fisher <1>
  • Blue Ridge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Blue Ridge is located in Piatt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Ridge
  • Proctor
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Proctor is located in Ford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor
  • Harpster
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Harpster is located in Ford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harpster
  • Laurette
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Laurette is located in McLean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurette
  • Dewey
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Kumler
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Kumler is located in McLean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kumler
  • Mansfield
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Weedman
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Weedman is located in De Witt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weedman
  • Mahomet
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Tomlinson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Tomlinson is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomlinson
    • Saybrook
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Harris
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Harris is located in Piatt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris

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

Newspapers Published in Dickerson ...

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 221 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dickerson.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dickerson, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dickerson.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Dickerson:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Dickerson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Dickerson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.