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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 Highland Estates (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 Highland Estates. 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 Highland Estates ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Highland Estates: Highland Ests.

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

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 southwest 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 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.

Highland Estates is located in Ogle 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 Ogle County: Carroll, DeKalb, Lee, Stephenson, Whiteside & Winnebago.

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

  • Ogle County     (The home county of Highland Estates)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland Estates, with the one closest to Highland Estates listed first.
    • Flagg Center
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Flagg Center is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagg Center
    • Hillcrest
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Hillcrest is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,216 people
    • Rochelle
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Flagg
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Flagg is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagg
    • Chana
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Creston
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Holcomb
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Lindenwood
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Honey Creek
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Honey Creek is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
    • Watertown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Watertown is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watertown
    • Carthage
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Carthage is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carthage
    • Davis Junction
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Monroe Center
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland Estates, with the one closest to Highland Estates listed first.
    • Irene
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Irene is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irene
    • Herbert
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Herbert is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herbert
    • Belvidere
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Garden Prairie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Timberlane
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Timberlane is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlane
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 934 people
  • Bureau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland Estates, with the one closest to Highland Estates listed first.
    • La Moille
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Van Orin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Carroll County
    • Hazelhurst
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Hazelhurst is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelhurst
  • DeKalb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland Estates, with the one closest to Highland Estates listed first.
    • Esmond
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Malta
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Fairdale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairdale is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
    • Clare
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Kirkland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Shabbona
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • De Kalb
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Elva
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Elva is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elva
    • Brush Point ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Brush Point is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Point
    • Coltonville ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Coltonville is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coltonville
    • Shabbona Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Shabbona Grove is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shabbona Grove
    • Waterman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Kingston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Kane County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland Estates, with the one closest to Highland Estates listed first.
    • Maple Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Burlington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Virgil
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • La Salle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland Estates, with the one closest to Highland Estates listed first.
    • Earlville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Mendota
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Leland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Triumph
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Baker
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Baker is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland Estates, with the one closest to Highland Estates listed first.
    • Steward
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Ashton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Franklin Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lee
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Inlet
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Inlet is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inlet
    • Lee Center
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • The Burg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • The Burg is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Burg
    • Compton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Nachusa
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • West Brooklyn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Paw Paw
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • East Paw Paw
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • East Paw Paw is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Paw Paw
    • Amboy
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Stephenson County
    • German Valley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Whiteside County
    • Penrose
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Penrose is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penrose
  • Winnebago County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland Estates, with the one closest to Highland Estates listed first.
    • New Millford
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • New Millford is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Millford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 851 people
    • North Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • North Park is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Park
    • Indian Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Indian Village is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
    • Alworth
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Alworth is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alworth
    • Cherry Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Rockford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Winnebago
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Seward
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Loves Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Machesney Park
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Sturbridge Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Sturbridge Village is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturbridge Village
    • Wempletown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Wempletown is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wempletown
    • Pecatonica
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Highland Estates ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Highland Estates.

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 Highland Estates - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Flagg Center Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Lawnridge Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Trinity Memorial Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • St. Patrick's Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Cooley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • White Rock Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Steward Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Paynes Point Lutheran Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Washington Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (242 more) ...
    • Chapel Hill Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Ashton Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Ashton Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Ashton.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #488154 <2>
    • Reynolds Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)

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

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

  • Flagg Center
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Flagg Center is located in Ogle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagg Center
  • Rochelle
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Flagg
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Flagg is located in Ogle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagg
  • Kings
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Kings is located in Ogle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings
  • White Rock
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • White Rock is located in Ogle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
  • Chana
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Ashton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Steward
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Creston
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Lindenwood
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Holcomb
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Honey Creek
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Honey Creek is located in Ogle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Franklin Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Esmond
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Davis Junction
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Highland Estates ...

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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Highland Estates.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Highland Estates, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Highland Estates.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Highland Estates:

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 Highland Estates, 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- Highland Estates) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.