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 Gorman (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 Gorman. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Gorman is located in Grundy 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 Grundy County: Kankakee, Kendall, La Salle, Livingston & Will.
Below are the counties that are near Gorman. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Gorman:
- Grundy County (The home county of Gorman)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gorman, with the one closest to Gorman listed first.
- Centerville ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Centerville is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Coal City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Carbon Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Carbon Hill is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
- Central City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Central City is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
- Braceville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mazon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Diamond
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Gardner
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Claypool
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Claypool is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claypool
- Gaslight Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gaslight Village is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaslight Village
- South Wilmington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- South Wilmington is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wilmington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 637 people
- East Brooklyn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- East Brooklyn is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Brooklyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
- DeKalb County
- Sandwich
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gorman, with the one closest to Gorman listed first.
- Cabery
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Kempton
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Iroquois County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gorman, with the one closest to Gorman listed first.
- Chebanse
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Clifton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Kankakee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gorman, with the one closest to Gorman listed first.
- Essex
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Reddick
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Union Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bonfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Buckingham
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Goodrich
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Goodrich is located in Kankakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodrich
- Herscher
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Limestone
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Limestone is located in Kankakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,498 people
- Irwin
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Irwin is located in Kankakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Bourbonnais
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Bradley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Kankakee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Kendall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gorman, with the one closest to Gorman listed first.
- Lisbon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lisbon is located in Kendall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
- Plattville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Plattville is located in Kendall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
- Newark
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Millbrook
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Yorkville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Bristol
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Oswego
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Plano
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- La Salle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gorman, with the one closest to Gorman listed first.
- Seneca
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Seneca is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,217 people
- Seneca has also been known as:
- Crotty
- Seneca village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seneca <1>
- Stavanger
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Stavanger is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stavanger
- Ransom
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Marseilles
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Kernan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Kernan is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kernan
- Millington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Dayton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Dayton is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
- Blakes
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Blakes is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blakes
- Serena
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sheridan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wedron
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Grand Ridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Livingston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gorman, with the one closest to Gorman listed first.
- Dwight
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Cardiff
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Cardiff is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
- Sunbury
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sunbury is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunbury
- Campus
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Adams ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Adams is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
- Budd
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Budd is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Budd
- Emington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Odell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Blackstone
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Missal
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Missal is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missal
- Eylar
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Eylar is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eylar
- Griswold
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Griswold is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griswold
- Will County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gorman, with the one closest to Gorman listed first.
- Godley
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Godley is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Godley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 771 people
- Braidwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Lakewood Shores
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Lakewood Shores is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Shores
- Wilmington
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Wilmington is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,597 people
- Custer Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Custer Park is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer Park
- Blodgett
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Blodgett is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blodgett
- Symerton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Symerton is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Symerton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
- Elwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Shorewood
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Wilton Center
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Preston Heights
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Preston Heights is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston Heights
- Rockdale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Rockdale is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,884 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Gorman, see our County-by-County Page for Gorman.
Cemeteries Near Gorman ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gorman.
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 Gorman - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Gorman covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Gorman, with the one closest to Gorman listed first.
- Braceville - Gardner Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Old Mazon Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Wheeler Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cotton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Brookside Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Sample Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Short Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Holderman Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Ward Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Olivet Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Olivet Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Braidwood.
- The Mt. Olivet Cemetery has also been known as:
- Rose Hill Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #107052 <2>
- Bohemian Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Continue List (261 more) ...
- Bohemian National Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Goodfarm Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Oakwood Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Braidwood.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #107252 <2>
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>
While we didn't find Gorman in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Gorman.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Gorman, with the one closest to Gorman listed first.
- Centerville ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Centerville is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Coal City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Mazon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mazonia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mazonia is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mazonia
- Braceville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Gardner
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Diamond
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Braidwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Wauponsee
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Wauponsee is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wauponsee
- Verona
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Morris
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lorenzo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Lorenzo is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorenzo
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Divine
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Divine is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Divine
- Essex
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Wilmington
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Wilmington is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,597 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Gorman. See our List of 1890's Communities around Gorman.
Newspapers Published in Gorman ...
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 76 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gorman.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gorman, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Gorman.
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 Gorman:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Grundy County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- DeKalb County
- Ford County
- Iroquois County
- Kankakee County
- Kendall County
- La Salle County
- Livingston County
- Will 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 Gorman, 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' (or 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- Gorman) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |