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 Forrest (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 Forrest. 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 doctors and 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.
Forrest is located in Livingston 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 Livingston County: Ford, Grundy, Kankakee, La Salle, McLean & Woodford.
Below are the counties that are near Forrest. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Forrest:
- Livingston County (The home county of Forrest)
- The following are listed by their distance from Forrest, with the one closest to Forrest listed first.
- Wing
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Wing is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wing
- Fairbury
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Chatsworth
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Avoca ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Avoca is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Strawn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Charlotte
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Charlotte is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlotte
- Saunemin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- McDowell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- McDowell is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDowell
- Eylar
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Eylar is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eylar
- Griswold
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Griswold is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griswold
- Cullom
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Swygert
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Swygert is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swygert
- Champaign County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forrest, with the one closest to Forrest listed first.
- Foosland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Lotus
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lotus is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lotus
- Ludlow
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dewey
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Fisher
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Ford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forrest, with the one closest to Forrest listed first.
- Piper City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Sibley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Kempton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Melvin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Roberts
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Garber
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Garber is located in Ford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garber
- Gibson City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- 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>
- Cabery
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Elliott
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Proctor
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Proctor is located in Ford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor
- Paxton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Grundy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forrest, with the one closest to Forrest listed first.
- Clarke City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Clarke City is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarke City
- East Brooklyn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- East Brooklyn is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Brooklyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
- Gardner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Highland Town ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Highland Town is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Town
- South Wilmington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- South Wilmington is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wilmington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 637 people
- Iroquois County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forrest, with the one closest to Forrest listed first.
- La Hogue
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- La Hogue is located in Iroquois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Hogue
- Thawville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Ridgeville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Ridgeville is located in Iroquois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Del Rey
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Del Rey is located in Iroquois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Del Rey
- Gilman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Onarga
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Buckley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Danforth
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Loda
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Ashkum
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Clifton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Crescent City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Kankakee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forrest, with the one closest to Forrest listed first.
- Buckingham
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Reddick
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Herscher
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Union Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Goodrich
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Goodrich is located in Kankakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodrich
- Irwin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Irwin is located in Kankakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- La Salle County
- Ransom
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- McLean County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forrest, with the one closest to Forrest listed first.
- Cropsey
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Weston
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Weston is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
- Anchor
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Colfax
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Chenoa
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Meadows
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Meadows is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
- Cooksville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lexington
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Saybrook
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Arrowsmith
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Gridley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Ellsworth
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Forrest, see our County-by-County Page for Forrest.
Cemeteries Near Forrest ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Forrest.
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 Forrest - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Forrest covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Forrest, with the one closest to Forrest listed first.
- Forrest Twp. Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Five Mile Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- North Apostolic Christian Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- St. Patrick's Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- St. John's Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- East Graceland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Graceland Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the East Graceland Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the southeast of Fairbury.
- The East Graceland Cemetery has also been known as:
- German Apostolic Christian Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2201400 <2>
- Graceland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- South Apostolic Christian Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Strawn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Chatsworth - Charlotte Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Avoca Twp. Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (162 more) ...
- Germanville Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Saunemin Five Mile Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Cooper Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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.<4>
While we didn't find Forrest in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Forrest.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Forrest, with the one closest to Forrest listed first.
- Risk
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Risk is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Risk
- Fairbury
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Strawn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Chatsworth
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Charlotte
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Charlotte is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlotte
- Saunemin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Lodemia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lodemia is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodemia
- Cropsey
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- McDowell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- McDowell is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDowell
- Eylar
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Eylar is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eylar
- Sibley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Rugby
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Rugby is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Piper City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Cullom
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Griswold
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Griswold is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griswold
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Forrest. See our List of 1890's Communities around Forrest.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Forrest ...
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 174 newspapers that have been published in the area around Forrest.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Forrest. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Forrest and those printed in the larger area surrounding Forrest.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Forrest.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Forrest:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Livingston County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Champaign County
- Ford County
- Grundy County
- Iroquois County
- Kankakee County
- La Salle County
- McLean 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> | 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- Forrest) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Forrest, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |