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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 Elburn (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 Elburn. 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.

Elburn is located in Kane 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 Kane County: Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Kendall, McHenry & Will.

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

  • Kane County     (The home county of Elburn)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elburn, with the one closest to Elburn listed first.
    • Lily Lake
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Lily Lake is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lily Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,019 people
    • Campton Hills
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Campton Hills is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campton Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,063 people
      • Campton Hills has also been known as:
      • Campton Hills village
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Campton Hills <1>
    • Wasco
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Bonnie
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Bonnie is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnie
      • Bonnie has also been known as:
      • Bonnie Valley
    • Virgil
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Kaneville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Maple Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Batavia
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Geneva
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Saint Charles
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Bowes Bend
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Mooseheart
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • North Aurora
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • North Aurora is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Aurora
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,144 people
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elburn, with the one closest to Elburn listed first.
    • Herbert
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Herbert is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herbert
    • Garden Prairie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Irene
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Cook County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elburn, with the one closest to Elburn listed first.
    • Streamwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Hanover Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Hoffman Estates
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • South Barrington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • South Barrington is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,976 people
    • Barrington Hills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Barrington Hills is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrington Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,152 people
    • Schaumburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Barrington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Inverness
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Elk Grove Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Fairfax Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairfax Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax Village
    • Plum Grove Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Plum Grove Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Grove Village
    • Rolling Meadows
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Winthrop Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Winthrop Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winthrop Village
  • DeKalb County
  • DuPage County
  • Kendall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elburn, with the one closest to Elburn listed first.
    • Montgomery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Little Rock
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Little Rock is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock
    • Bristol
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Boulder Hill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Boulder Hill is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder Hill
    • Plano
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Plano is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,879 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plano <1>
    • Yorkville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Oswego
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Millbrook
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Newark
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Plattville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Plattville is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
    • Lisbon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • La Salle County
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elburn, with the one closest to Elburn listed first.
    • Lake Barrington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Lake Barrington is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,840 people
    • Deer Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Fox River Valley Gardens
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • North Barrington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • North Barrington is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,938 people
    • Port Barrington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Port Barrington is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,481 people
      • Port Barrington has also been known as:
      • Port Barrington village
    • Lake Zurich
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Tower Lakes
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Tower Lakes is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Lakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
    • Kildeer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Forest Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Wauconda
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elburn, with the one closest to Elburn listed first.
    • Lee
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • East Paw Paw
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • East Paw Paw is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Paw Paw
    • Steward
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Paw Paw
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Radley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • McHenry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elburn, with the one closest to Elburn listed first.
    • Huntley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Algonquin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake-in-the-Hills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lakewood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Union
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Trout Valley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Trout Valley is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trout Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 508 people
    • Crystal Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Cary
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Cary is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,929 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cary <1>
    • Fox River Grove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Marengo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Ridgefield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Oakwood Hills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Oakwood Hills is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,011 people
    • Barreville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Ogle County
  • Will County

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

Cemeteries Near Elburn ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Elburn.

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

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

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

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 Elburn had a population of 584 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Elburn had a population of 6,098 people.

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

  • Lily Lake
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Lily Lake is located in Kane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lily Lake
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,019 people
  • Bald Mound
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bald Mound is located in Kane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Mound
  • Wasco
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Kaneville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Maple Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Richardson
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Richardson is located in Kane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardson
  • North Aurora
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • North Aurora is located in Kane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Aurora
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,144 people
  • Batavia
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Geneva
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Saint Charles
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Big Rock
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Sugar Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Youngsdale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Youngsdale is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngsdale
    • Plato Center
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Coleman
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Elburn ...

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 105 newspapers that have been published in the area around Elburn.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Elburn. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Elburn and those printed in the larger area surrounding Elburn.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4> of Elburn.

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 Elburn:

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 Elburn, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Elburn) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.