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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 Geneva (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 Geneva. 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 Geneva ...

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.

In past government published Postal Guides, Geneva was referred to as Geneva Courthouse.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Geneva. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Geneva.

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 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.

Geneva is located in Kane County and is the County Seat.

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 Geneva. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Geneva:

  • Kane County     (The home county of Geneva)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Geneva, with the one closest to Geneva listed first.
    • Saint Charles
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Batavia
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Bonnie
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Bonnie is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnie
      • Bonnie has also been known as:
      • Bonnie Valley
    • Mooseheart
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Campton Hills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • North Aurora
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • North Aurora is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Aurora
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,144 people
    • Coleman
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Wasco
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • South Elgin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • South Elgin is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elgin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 24,646 people
    • Aurora
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Elburn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Lily Lake
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Lily Lake is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lily Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,019 people
  • Boone County
    • Herbert
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Herbert is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herbert
  • Cook County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Geneva, with the one closest to Geneva listed first.
    • Hanover Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Streamwood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hoffman Estates
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Schaumburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • South Barrington
      (15 miles [24.1 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
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Barrington Hills is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrington Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,152 people
    • Elk Grove Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Inverness
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Fairfax Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairfax Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax Village
    • Plum Grove Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Plum Grove Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Grove Village
    • Rolling Meadows
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Winthrop Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Winthrop Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winthrop Village
  • DeKalb County
  • DuPage County
  • Grundy County
    • Minooka
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Kendall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Geneva, with the one closest to Geneva listed first.
    • Montgomery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Boulder Hill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Boulder Hill is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder Hill
    • Oswego
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Bristol
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Yorkville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Little Rock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Little Rock is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock
    • Plano
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>
    • Millbrook
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Plattville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Plattville is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
    • Newark
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lisbon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • La Salle County
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Geneva, with the one closest to Geneva listed first.
    • Deer Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Barrington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Lake Barrington is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,840 people
    • North Barrington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • North Barrington is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,938 people
    • Tower Lakes
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Tower Lakes is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Lakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
    • Kildeer
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Zurich
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Fox River Valley Gardens
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Port Barrington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • Buffalo Grove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Forest Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Long Grove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Aptakisic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • McHenry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Geneva, with the one closest to Geneva listed first.
    • Algonquin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Huntley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Lake-in-the-Hills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Fox River Grove
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Trout Valley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Trout Valley is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trout Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 508 people
    • Cary
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • 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>
    • Crystal Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Lakewood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Oakwood Hills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Oakwood Hills is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,011 people
    • Barreville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Prairie Grove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Prairie Grove is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,920 people
    • Ridgefield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Will County

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

Cemeteries Near Geneva ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Geneva.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Geneva, with the one closest to Geneva 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 Geneva had a population of 1,692 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Geneva had a population of 21,674 people.

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

  • Batavia
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Saint Charles
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Bald Mound
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bald Mound is located in Kane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Mound
  • North Aurora
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • North Aurora is located in Kane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Aurora
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,144 people
  • Ingalton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Wayne
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Warrenhurst
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Warrenhurst is located in DuPage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrenhurst
  • Coleman
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Wasco
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Youngsdale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Youngsdale is located in Kane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngsdale
  • Warrenville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • South Elgin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • South Elgin is located in Kane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elgin
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 24,646 people
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Geneva ...

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 119 newspapers that have been published in the area around Geneva.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Geneva. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Geneva and those printed in the larger area surrounding Geneva.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4> of Geneva.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Geneva:

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