RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Illinois >> McLean County >> Funks Grove >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Funks Grove (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 Funks Grove. 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 Funks Grove ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Funks Grove: Funks Grv.
  • While the name of this community is Funks Grove, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Funks Grove may originally have been Funk's Grove.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Funks Grove might be written as Funk Grove.

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.

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.

Funks Grove is located in McLean 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 McLean County: Champaign, De Witt, Ford, Livingston, Logan, Piatt, Tazewell & Woodford.

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

  • McLean County     (The home county of Funks Grove)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Funks Grove, with the one closest to Funks Grove listed first.
    • Shirley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • McLean
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Stanford
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Heyworth
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Bloomington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Gillum
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Gillum is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillum
    • Danvers
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Danvers is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danvers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,093 people
      • Danvers has also been known as:
      • Danver
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danvers <2>
    • Yuton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Yuton is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuton
    • Downs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Brokaw
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Brokaw is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brokaw
    • Normal
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Carlock
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Hudson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • De Witt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Funks Grove, with the one closest to Funks Grove listed first.
    • Waynesville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Tabor
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Tabor is located in De Witt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
    • Wapella
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Hallsville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Hallsville is located in De Witt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallsville
    • Midland City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Midland City is located in De Witt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland City
    • Clinton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Kenney
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Birkbeck
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Birkbeck is located in De Witt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birkbeck
    • Rowell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Rowell is located in De Witt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowell
    • De Witt
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • De Witt is located in De Witt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Witt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
    • Lane
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Fullerton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Fullerton is located in De Witt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fullerton
    • Parnell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Parnell is located in De Witt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnell
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Funks Grove, with the one closest to Funks Grove listed first.
    • Atlanta
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Lawndale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Beason
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Evans
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Evans is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
    • Bell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Bell is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
    • Hartsburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Lincoln
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Emden
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Chestnut
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Chestervale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Chestervale is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestervale
    • Mount Pulaski
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Broadwell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Broadwell is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadwell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
    • Latham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Macon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Funks Grove, with the one closest to Funks Grove listed first.
    • Maroa
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Warrensburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Argenta
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Funks Grove, with the one closest to Funks Grove listed first.
    • San Jose
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Natrona
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Natrona is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natrona
  • Piatt County
    • De Land
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Tazewell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Funks Grove, with the one closest to Funks Grove listed first.
    • Armington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Minier
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Burt
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Burt is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burt
    • Richmond
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Richmond is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
    • Sutter ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Sutter is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutter
    • Fravert ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Fravert is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fravert
    • Tazewell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Tazewell is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tazewell
    • Mindale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Mindale is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mindale
    • Lilly
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Lilly is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly
    • Walnut
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Walnut is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
    • Boynton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Boynton is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boynton
    • Hopedale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Mackinaw
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Mackinaw is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackinaw
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,861 people
      • Former name for Mackinaw:
      • Mackinawtown
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mackinaw <2>
  • Woodford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Funks Grove, with the one closest to Funks Grove listed first.
    • Congerville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Goodfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Kappa
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Kappa is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kappa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
    • Eureka
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • El Paso
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Secor
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Panola
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Panola is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
    • Roanoke
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Funks Grove ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Funks Grove.

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 Funks Grove - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Funks Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Brock Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Shirley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • McLean - Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Fremont Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Old Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Big Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Passwater Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Grassy Ridge Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • County Farm Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Brooks Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (276 more) ...
    • Longsworth Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Roach Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Halsey Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)

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, Funks Grove had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • McLean
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Shirley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Covell
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Covell is located in McLean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covell
  • Heyworth
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Randolph
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Randolph is located in McLean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
  • Stanford
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Waynesville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Hendrix
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Hendrix is located in McLean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrix
  • Atlanta
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Twin Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Twin Grove is located in McLean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Grove
  • Mountjoy
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Mountjoy is located in Logan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountjoy
  • Bloomington
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Armington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Danvers
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Danvers is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danvers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,093 people
      • Danvers has also been known as:
      • Danver
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danvers <2>
    • Gillum
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Gillum is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillum

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

Newspapers Published in Funks Grove ...

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 215 newspapers that have been published in the area around Funks Grove.

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

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 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 Funks Grove:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Funks Grove, 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 from Point A (ie- Funks Grove) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.