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 Franklin Park (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 Franklin Park. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Franklin Park is located in Cook 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 Cook County: DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, Lake (IN) & Berrien (MI).
Below are the counties that are near Franklin Park. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Franklin Park:
- Cook County (The home county of Franklin Park)
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin Park, with the one closest to Franklin Park listed first.
- Schiller Park
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Northlake
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- River Grove
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Stone Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Melrose Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dunning
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Dunning is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunning
- Elmwood Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Rosemont
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Norridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bellwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bellwood is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,436 people
- Bellwood has also been known as:
- Bellwood village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bellwood <1>
- Berkeley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Harwood Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- DuPage County
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin Park, with the one closest to Franklin Park listed first.
- Bensenville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Elmhurst
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- South Elmhurst
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- South Elmhurst is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elmhurst
- Wood Dale
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Villa Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Villa Park is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,291 people
- Addison
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Oak Brook Terrace
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Brook Terrace is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Brook Terrace
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,094 people
- Oak Brook
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Utopia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Utopia is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utopia
- York Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- York Center is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York Center
- Itasca
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Lombard
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Kane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin Park, with the one closest to Franklin Park listed first.
- Coleman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Coleman is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
- East Dundee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Batavia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Elgin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Geneva
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Saint Charles
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- South Elgin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- South Elgin is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elgin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24,646 people
- Carpentersville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Sleepy Hollow
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mooseheart
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Aurora
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bonnie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Bonnie is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnie
- Bonnie has also been known as:
- Bonnie Valley
- Kendall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin Park, with the one closest to Franklin Park listed first.
- Boulder Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Boulder Hill is located in Kendall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder Hill
- Montgomery
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Oswego
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin Park, with the one closest to Franklin Park listed first.
- Braeside
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Braeside is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braeside
- Buffalo Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Deerfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Ravinia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Ravinia is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravinia
- Riverwoods
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Aptakisic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Aptakisic is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aptakisic
- Bannockburn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Highland Park
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Highwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Lincolnshire
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Prairie View
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Prairie View is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie View
- Deer Park
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- McHenry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin Park, with the one closest to Franklin Park listed first.
- Fox River Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Algonquin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cary
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Trout Valley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Trout Valley is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trout Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 508 people
- Lake-in-the-Hills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Island Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Island Lake is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,951 people
- Oakwood Hills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Oakwood Hills is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,011 people
- Barreville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Barreville is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barreville
- Holiday Hills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Holiday Hills is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 574 people
- Prairie Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Prairie Grove is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,920 people
- Will County
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin Park, with the one closest to Franklin Park listed first.
- Colonial Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Colonial Village is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
- Winston Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Winston Village is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winston Village
- Bloomfield Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Bloomfield Village is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield Village
- Bolingbrook
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Goodings Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Goodings Grove is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodings Grove
- Romeoville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Homer Glen
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Homer Glen is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer Glen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24,281 people
- Homer Glen has also been known as:
- Homer Glen village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Homer Glen <1>
- Lockport
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Normantown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Normantown is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normantown
- Fairmont
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Fairmont is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont
- Plainfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Walker
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Walker is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
- Lake County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin Park, with the one closest to Franklin Park listed first.
- Whiting
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- East Chicago
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hammond
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Franklin Park, see our County-by-County Page for Franklin Park.
Cemeteries Near Franklin Park ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Franklin Park.
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 Franklin Park - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Franklin Park covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Franklin Park, with the one closest to Franklin Park listed first.
- Memorial Estates Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Fairview Memorial Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Joseph Cemetery
- The St. Joseph Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Joseph's Cemetery
- Eden Memorial Park
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mt. Emblem Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Elm Lawn Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Arlington Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Elmwood Memorial Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood Memorial Cemetery
- The Elmwood Memorial Cemetery has also been known as:
- Elmwood Cemetery
- Indian Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Resthaven Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Old Settlers Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Irving Park Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving Park Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Irving Park Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Norridge.
- The Irving Park Cemetery has also been known as:
- Irving Park Boulevard Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #106325 <2>
- Continue List (364 more) ...
- Acacia Park Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Westlawn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Westlawn Jewish Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
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 in 1895, Franklin Park had railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Franklin Park had a population of 17,402 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Franklin Park, with the one closest to Franklin Park listed first.
- River Grove
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Dunning
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Dunning is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunning
- Bensenville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Elmhurst
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- South Elmhurst
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- South Elmhurst is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elmhurst
- Hillside
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Maywood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Galewood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Galewood is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galewood
- Mont Clare
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mont Clare is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mont Clare
- Oak Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Park Ridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- South Addison
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- South Addison is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Addison
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Austin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Austin is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austin
- Cragin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Cragin is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cragin
- Grayland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Grayland is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayland
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Franklin Park. See our List of 1890's Communities around Franklin Park.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Franklin Park ...
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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Franklin Park.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Franklin Park. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Franklin Park and those printed in the larger area surrounding Franklin Park.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4> of Franklin Park.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Franklin Park:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Cook County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- DuPage County
- Kane County
- Kendall County
- Lake County
- McHenry County
- Will County
- Lake 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> | 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 Franklin Park, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Franklin Park) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |