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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 Elba Center (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 Elba Center. 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 Elba Center ...

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 Elba Center: Elba Ctr. (or less commonly used: Elba Cen., Elba Cent. or Elba Cntr.)

You might see Elba Centre instead of Elba Center.

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.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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 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.

Elba Center is located in Knox 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 Knox County: Fulton, Henry, Mercer, Peoria, Stark & Warren.

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

  • Knox County     (The home county of Elba Center)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elba Center, with the one closest to Elba Center listed first.
    • Yates City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Williamsfield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Dahinda
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Maquon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Appleton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Appleton is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
    • Gilson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Knox
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Knox is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knox
    • Victoria
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • De Long
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • De Long is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Long
    • Knoxville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • East Galesburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • East Galesburg is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Galesburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 761 people
    • Wataga
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elba Center, with the one closest to Elba Center listed first.
    • Farmington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • London Mills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Norris
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Fairview
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Brereton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Brereton is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brereton
    • Bybee
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Bybee is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bybee
    • Canton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Breeds
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Breeds is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breeds
    • Fiatt
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Ellisville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Blyton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Blyton is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blyton
    • Babylon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Babylon is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babylon
  • Henry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elba Center, with the one closest to Elba Center listed first.
    • Galva
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Bishop Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Kewanee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Woodhull
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Alpha
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Marshall County
  • McDonough County
    • Prairie City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Prairie City is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
  • Mercer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elba Center, with the one closest to Elba Center listed first.
    • North Henderson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Alexis
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Peoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elba Center, with the one closest to Elba Center listed first.
    • Elmwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Brimfield
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Elmore
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Elmore is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
    • Laura
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Monica
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Monica is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monica
    • Trivoli
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Princeville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Edwards
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hanna City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Dunlap
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Orange Prairie
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Norwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Norwood is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 447 people
  • Stark County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elba Center, with the one closest to Elba Center listed first.
    • West Jersey
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • West Jersey is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Jersey
    • La Fayette
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Toulon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Wyoming
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Speer
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Modena
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Modena is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modena
    • Castleton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Osceola
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Osceola is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
    • Bradford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Tazewell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elba Center, with the one closest to Elba Center listed first.
    • Talbott
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Talbott is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talbott
    • Wesley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Wesley is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley
    • Creve Coeur
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Creve Coeur is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creve Coeur
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,109 people
      • Former name for Creve Coeur:
      • Wesley City
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Creve Coeur <1>
    • East Peoria
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • East Peoria is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Peoria
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,344 people
      • Former name for East Peoria:
      • Hilton
    • Marquette Heights
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Marquette Heights is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marquette Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,617 people
    • North Pekin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • North Pekin is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Pekin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,530 people
      • Former name for North Pekin:
      • Radio City
    • Radville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Radville is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radville
    • Crescent
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Crescent is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
    • Highway Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Highway Village is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highway Village
    • Pekin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Pekin is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pekin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,808 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pekin <1>
    • Powerton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Powerton is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powerton
    • Stoehrs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Stoehrs is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoehrs
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elba Center, with the one closest to Elba Center listed first.
    • Surrey
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Surrey is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surrey
    • Cameron
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Utah
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Utah is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utah
    • Berwick
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Shanghai City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Shanghai City is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanghai City
    • Gerlaw
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Woodford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elba Center, with the one closest to Elba Center listed first.
    • Bay View Gardens
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Bay View Gardens is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View Gardens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 407 people
    • Spring Bay
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Spring Bay is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Bay
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 456 people
    • Germantown Hills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Elba Center ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Elba Center.

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 Elba Center - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Elba Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Kightlinger Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Catterton Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Summitt - Douglas Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Corbin Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Maquon Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Fink Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Yates City Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Elmwood City Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • French Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Trenton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (312 more) ...
    • Harshbarger Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • St. Marys Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Williams Family Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)

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>

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

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

  • Douglas
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Douglas is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
  • Yates City
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Williamsfield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Elmwood
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Dahinda
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Maquon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Truro
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Truro is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truro
  • Brimfield
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Laura
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Elmore
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Elmore is located in Peoria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
  • Appleton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Appleton is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
  • Gilson
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Rapatee
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Rapatee is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapatee
    • Farmington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Oak Hill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Oak Hill is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill

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

Newspapers Published in Elba Center ...

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 151 newspapers that have been published in the area around Elba Center.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Elba Center, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Elba Center.

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 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 Elba Center:

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 Elba Center, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Elba Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.