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 Genoa (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 Genoa. 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 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.
Genoa is located in DeKalb 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 DeKalb County: Boone, Kane, Kendall, La Salle, Lee, McHenry, Ogle & Winnebago.
Below are the counties that are near Genoa. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Genoa:
- DeKalb County (The home county of Genoa)
- The following are listed by their distance from Genoa, with the one closest to Genoa listed first.
- Charter Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Charter Grove is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charter Grove
- Kingston
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- New Lebanon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- New Lebanon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lebanon
- Brush Point ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Brush Point is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Point
- Sycamore
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Sycamore is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,317 people
- Coltonville ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Coltonville is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coltonville
- Clare
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Kirkland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- De Kalb
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Cortland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Esmond
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Fairdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Fairdale is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
- Malta
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Boone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Genoa, with the one closest to Genoa listed first.
- Herbert
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Herbert is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herbert
- Garden Prairie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Irene
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Irene is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irene
- Belvidere
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Russellville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Russellville is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Timberlane
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Timberlane is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlane
- Population from the 2020 Census: 934 people
- Poplar Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Capron
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Caledonia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cook County
- The following are listed by their distance from Genoa, with the one closest to Genoa listed first.
- Barrington Hills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Barrington Hills is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrington Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,152 people
- South Barrington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- South Barrington is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Barrington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,976 people
- Streamwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Barrington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hoffman Estates
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hanover Park
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Inverness
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- DuPage County
- The following are listed by their distance from Genoa, with the one closest to Genoa listed first.
- Wayne
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Bartlett
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- West Chicago
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- West Chicago is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chicago
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,593 people
- Ingalton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ingalton is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingalton
- Keeneyville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Keeneyville is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeneyville
- Kane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Genoa, with the one closest to Genoa listed first.
- Burlington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Hampshire
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- North Plato
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- North Plato is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Plato
- Starks
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Starks is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starks
- Virgil
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pingree Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Maple Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Plato Center
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Bowes Bend
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Bowes Bend is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowes Bend
- Freeman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Freeman is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Lily Lake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lily Lake is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lily Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,019 people
- Gilberts
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Campton Hills
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- 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>
- Kendall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Genoa, with the one closest to Genoa listed first.
- Little Rock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Little Rock is located in Kendall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock
- Plano
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Genoa, with the one closest to Genoa listed first.
- Fox River Valley Gardens
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- 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 Barrington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- 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
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- 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
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Tower Lakes is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
- Wauconda
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Genoa, with the one closest to Genoa listed first.
- Steward
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Lee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- East Paw Paw
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- East Paw Paw is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Paw Paw
- McHenry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Genoa, with the one closest to Genoa listed first.
- Marengo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Union
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Huntley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Lakewood
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Woodstock
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lake-in-the-Hills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Crystal Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ridgefield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ridgefield is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgefield
- Algonquin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Trout Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Trout Valley is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trout Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 508 people
- Harvard
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Bull Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Bull Valley is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,078 people
- Cary
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Ogle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Genoa, with the one closest to Genoa listed first.
- Monroe Center
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Lindenwood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Creston
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Davis Junction
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Holcomb
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Hillcrest
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hillcrest is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,216 people
- Rochelle
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Flagg Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Flagg Center is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagg Center
- Stillman Valley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Flagg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Flagg is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagg
- Byron
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Chana
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Honey Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Honey Creek is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Winnebago County
- The following are listed by their distance from Genoa, with the one closest to Genoa listed first.
- Cherry Valley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- North Park
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- North Park is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Park
- New Millford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- New Millford is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Millford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 851 people
- Argyle
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Argyle is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
- Indian Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Indian Village is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Loves Park
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rockford
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Machesney Park
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Sturbridge Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sturbridge Village is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturbridge Village
- Roscoe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Alworth
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Alworth is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alworth
- Winnebago
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Walworth County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Genoa, with the one closest to Genoa listed first.
- Big Foot Prairie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Big Foot Prairie is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Foot Prairie
- Sharon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Sharon is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,546 people
- Walworth
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Walworth is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,827 people
- Zenda
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Zenda is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenda
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Genoa, see our County-by-County Page for Genoa.
Cemeteries Near Genoa ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Genoa.
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 Genoa - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Genoa covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Genoa, with the one closest to Genoa listed first.
- Genoa Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Kingston Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Lanan Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Charter Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charter Grove Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Charter Grove Cemetery is located outside and to the southwest of Charter Grove.
- Ney Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- North Kingston Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Vanderburgh Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mayfield Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ault Road Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Barber Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Carmel Sycamore Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Elmwood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Continue List (269 more) ...
- Shattucks Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Riley Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riley Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Riley Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<3> to the south of Marengo.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2143541 <2>
- Maple Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Genoa had a population of 634 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Genoa had a population of 5,251 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Genoa, with the one closest to Genoa listed first.
- Charter Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Charter Grove is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charter Grove
- Kingston
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- New Lebanon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- New Lebanon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lebanon
- Herbert
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Herbert is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herbert
- Colvin Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Colvin Park is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvin Park
- Sycamore
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Sycamore is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,317 people
- Clare
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Burlington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Kirkland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Hampshire
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Harmony
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Harmony is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Reeds Crossing ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Reeds Crossing is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Crossing
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Richardson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Richardson is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardson
- Coral
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Coral is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coral
- De Kalb
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Genoa. See our List of 1890's Communities around Genoa.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Genoa ...
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 132 newspapers that have been published in the area around Genoa.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Genoa. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Genoa and those printed in the larger area surrounding Genoa.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3> of Genoa.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Genoa:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to DeKalb County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Boone County
- Cook County
- DuPage County
- Kane County
- Kendall County
- Lake County
- Lee County
- McHenry County
- Ogle County
- Winnebago County
- Walworth 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Genoa) 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 Genoa, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |