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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 Dover (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 Dover. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Dover 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 Dover. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dover:

  • Bureau County     (The home county of Dover)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dover, with the one closest to Dover listed first.
    • Malden
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Greenoak
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Greenoak is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenoak
    • Zearing
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Zearing is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zearing
    • Limerick
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Limerick is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limerick
    • Princeton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Kasbeer
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Hollowayville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Hollowayville is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollowayville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
    • Seatonville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Arlington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Van Orin
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • La Moille
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • De Pue
      (8 miles [12.9 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
  • Henry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dover, with the one closest to Dover listed first.
    • Annawan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Hooppole
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Kewanee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • La Salle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dover, with the one closest to Dover listed first.
    • Peru
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • Troy Grove
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Mendota
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • La Salle
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Cedar Point
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Triumph
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Waltham
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Waltham is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltham
    • Oglesby
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • North Utica
      (20 miles [32.2 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
    • Deer Park
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Deer Park is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Park
    • Utica
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Tonica
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dover, with the one closest to Dover listed first.
    • Sublette
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Amboy
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Harmon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Inlet
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Inlet is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inlet
    • Lee Center
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • West Brooklyn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Eldena
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • The Burg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • The Burg is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Burg
    • Compton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Nachusa
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Paw Paw
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Nelson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dover, with the one closest to Dover listed first.
    • Henry
      (22 miles [35.4 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>
    • Camp Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Lacon
      (28 miles [45.1 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
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Varna
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dover, with the one closest to Dover listed first.
    • Hennepin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Mark
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Granville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Standard
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Putnam
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • McNabb
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Palatine
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Palatine is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Palatine
    • Magnolia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Stark County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dover, with the one closest to Dover listed first.
    • Bradford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Osceola
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Osceola is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
    • Castleton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Modena
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Modena is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modena
  • Whiteside County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dover, with the one closest to Dover listed first.
    • Deer Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Tampico
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Rock Falls
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Sterling
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Galt
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Dover ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dover.

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

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

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

  • Prairie Repose Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Dover Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Malden Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Mason Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Woodlawn - Stoner Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Elm Lawn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Limerick Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Heatons Point Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Oakland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Oakland Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Princeton.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #107273 <2>
  • Artestian Well Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Johns Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (233 more) ...
    • North Prairie Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jenkins - Green Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Searl Ridge Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)

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 Dover had a population of 220 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Dover had a population of 151 people.

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

  • Malden
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Greenoak
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Greenoak is located in Bureau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenoak
  • Princeton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Limerick
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Limerick is located in Bureau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limerick
  • Kasbeer
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Hollowayville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Hollowayville is located in Bureau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollowayville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
  • Seatonville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • De Pue
    (8 miles [12.9 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
  • Arlington
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • La Moille
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Van Orin
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Ohio
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Ladd
      (9 miles [14.5 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>
    • Wyanet
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Bureau Junction
      (10 miles [16.1 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>

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

Newspapers Published in Dover ...

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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dover.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dover, 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 Dover.

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 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 Dover:

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