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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 Heatherfield (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 Heatherfield. 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.

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

  • Grundy County     (The home county of Heatherfield)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Heatherfield, with the one closest to Heatherfield listed first.
    • Morris
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Claypool
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Claypool is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claypool
    • Gaslight Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Gaslight Village is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaslight Village
    • Wauponsee
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Wauponsee is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wauponsee
    • Sand Ridge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Sand Ridge is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Ridge
    • Nettle Creek
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Nettle Creek is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettle Creek
    • Mazon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Carbon Hill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Carbon Hill is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon Hill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Verona
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Channahon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Highland Town ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Highland Town is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Town
    • Centerville ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Centerville is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
    • Coal City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • DeKalb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Heatherfield, with the one closest to Heatherfield listed first.
    • Sandwich
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Somonauk
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Franks
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Franks is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franks
    • Hinckley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • DuPage County
  • Ford County
    • Cabery
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Kane County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Heatherfield, with the one closest to Heatherfield listed first.
    • Big Rock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Sugar Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Aurora
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Kankakee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Heatherfield, with the one closest to Heatherfield listed first.
    • Essex
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Reddick
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Union Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Bonfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Buckingham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Goodrich
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Goodrich is located in Kankakee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodrich
    • Herscher
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Kendall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Heatherfield, with the one closest to Heatherfield listed first.
    • Lisbon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Lisbon is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
    • Plattville
      (12 miles [19.3 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
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Millbrook
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Yorkville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Plano
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • 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>
    • Bristol
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Oswego
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Boulder Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Boulder Hill is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder Hill
    • Little Rock
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Little Rock is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock
    • Montgomery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
  • La Salle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Heatherfield, with the one closest to Heatherfield listed first.
    • Stavanger
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Stavanger is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stavanger
    • Seneca
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>
    • Marseilles
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Millington
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Sheridan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Blakes
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Blakes is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blakes
    • Serena
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Wedron
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Ransom
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Dayton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Dayton is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
    • Ottawa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Ottawa is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottawa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,097 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ottawa <1>
    • South Ottawa ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • South Ottawa is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ottawa
    • Grand Ridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Lee County
    • Radley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Radley is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radley
  • Livingston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Heatherfield, with the one closest to Heatherfield listed first.
    • Dwight
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Dwight is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwight
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,984 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dwight <1>
    • Sunbury
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Sunbury is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunbury
    • Adams ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Adams is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
    • Budd
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Budd is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Budd
    • Blackstone
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Cardiff
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Cardiff is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
    • Missal
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Missal is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missal
    • Campus
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Odell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Odell is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 957 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Odell <1>
    • Vermilion City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Vermilion City is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermilion City
    • Emington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Coalville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Coalville is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
    • Munster
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Munster is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munster
  • Will County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Heatherfield, with the one closest to Heatherfield listed first.
    • Blodgett
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Blodgett is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blodgett
    • Braidwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Godley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Godley is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Godley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 771 people
    • Shorewood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Lakewood Shores
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Lakewood Shores is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Shores
    • Wilmington
      (17 miles [27.4 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
    • Elwood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Summerfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Summerfield is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield
    • Custer Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Custer Park is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer Park
    • 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
    • Symerton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Symerton is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Symerton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
    • Crystal Lawns
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Crystal Lawns is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lawns
    • Preston Heights
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Preston Heights is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston Heights

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

Cemeteries Near Heatherfield ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Heatherfield.

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

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

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

  • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Catholic North Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Cryder Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Sample Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Holderman & Hoge Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Holderman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Saratoga Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Stavanger Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Aux Sable Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Munger Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (266 more) ...

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 Heatherfield in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Heatherfield.

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

  • Morris
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Wauponsee
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Wauponsee is located in Grundy County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wauponsee
  • Sand Ridge
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Sand Ridge is located in Grundy County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Ridge
  • Nettle Creek
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Nettle Creek is located in Grundy County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettle Creek
  • Lisbon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Lisbon is located in Kendall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
  • Stavanger
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Stavanger is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stavanger
  • Seneca
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • 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>
  • Mazon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Divine
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Divine is located in Grundy County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Divine
  • White Willow ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • White Willow is located in Kendall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Willow
  • Verona
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Centerville ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Centerville is located in Grundy County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Coal City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Channahon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Minooka
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Heatherfield ...

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 57 newspapers that have been published in the area around Heatherfield.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Heatherfield, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Heatherfield.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Heatherfield:

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