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 Kent (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 Kent. 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 northwest 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 north.
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 north 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.
Kent is located in Stephenson 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 Stephenson County: Carroll, Jo Daviess, Ogle, Winnebago, Green (WI) & Lafayette (WI).
Below are the counties that are near Kent. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Kent:
- Stephenson County (The home county of Kent)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kent, with the one closest to Kent listed first.
- Yellow Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Yellow Creek is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Creek
- Pearl City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Loran
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Loran is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loran
- Salem
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Salem is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Lena
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lena is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,680 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lena <1>
- Eleroy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bolton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bolton is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton
- McConnell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Freeport
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Red Oak
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Red Oak is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oak
- Winslow
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Florence
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Florence is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Buena Vista
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Buena Vista is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kent, with the one closest to Kent listed first.
- Zier Cors
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Zier Cors is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zier Cors
- Polsgrove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Polsgrove is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polsgrove
- Georgetown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Georgetown is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Shannon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Lanark
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Mount Carroll
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Center Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Center Hill is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Hill
- Blackhawk
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Blackhawk is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhawk
- Marcus
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Marcus is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Wacker
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Wacker is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wacker
- Daggett ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Daggett is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daggett
- Arnold
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Arnold is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Hickory Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hickory Grove is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
- Jo Daviess County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kent, with the one closest to Kent listed first.
- Stockton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Valley is located in Jo Daviess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
- Nora
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Warren
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Apple River
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Elizabeth
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Hanover
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Scales Mound
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Aiken
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Aiken is located in Jo Daviess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aiken
- Bremen
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Bremen is located in Jo Daviess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bremen
- Galena Junction
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Galena Junction is located in Jo Daviess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena Junction
- Galena
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Ogle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kent, with the one closest to Kent listed first.
- Baileyville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Harper
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Harper is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Forreston
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Brookville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Brookville is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookville
- Adeline
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Adeline is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adeline
- Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
- Haldane
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Haldane is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haldane
- Maryland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Maryland is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryland
- Egan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Egan is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egan
- Buffalo Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Buffalo Grove is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Grove
- Polo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Leaf River
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Morris
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Whiteside County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kent, with the one closest to Kent listed first.
- Coleta
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Spring Valley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Spring Valley is located in Whiteside County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- White Pigeon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- White Pigeon is located in Whiteside County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Pigeon
- Winnebago County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kent, with the one closest to Kent listed first.
- Pecatonica
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Lake Summerset
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Lake Summerset is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Summerset
- Seward
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Durand
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Clinton County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kent, with the one closest to Kent listed first.
- Elk River Junction
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Elk River Junction is located in Clinton County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk River Junction
- Teeds Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Teeds Grove is located in Clinton County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teeds Grove
- Andover
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Andover is located in Clinton County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Jackson County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kent, with the one closest to Kent listed first.
- Sabula
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Green Island
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Green Island is located in Jackson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Island
- Miles
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bellevue
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- North Bellevue
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- North Bellevue is located in Jackson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bellevue
- Smiths
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Smiths is located in Jackson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths
- Van Buren
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Van Buren is located in Jackson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Buren
- Green County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kent, with the one closest to Kent listed first.
- Cadiz
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Cadiz is located in Green County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cadiz
- Browntown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Browntown is located in Green County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browntown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Twin Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Twin Grove is located in Green County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Grove
- Monroe
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Monroe is located in Green County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,426 people
- Lafayette County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kent, with the one closest to Kent listed first.
- South Wayne
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- South Wayne is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wayne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
- Gratiot
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Gratiot is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gratiot
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Wiota
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Wiota is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiota
- Woodford
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Woodford is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
- Fort Gratiot ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Gratiot is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Gratiot
- Former name for Fort Gratiot:
- Gratiot Grove
- Shullsburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Shullsburg is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shullsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,192 people
- White Oak
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- White Oak is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
- Argyle
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Argyle is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 809 people
- Darlington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Darlington is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,317 people
- New Diggings
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- New Diggings is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Diggings
- Etna
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Etna is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Benton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Benton is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Kent, see our County-by-County Page for Kent.
Cemeteries Near Kent ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kent.
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 Kent - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Kent covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Kent, with the one closest to Kent listed first.
- St. Pauls Lutheran Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Kelloggs Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelloggs Grove Cemetery
- The Kelloggs Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
- Black Hawk Monument Cemetery
- Blackhawk Monument Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2180780 <2>
- Kent Lutheran Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent Lutheran Cemetery
- The Kent Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- Kent Cemetery
- Kent United Baptist Cemetery
- Old Liberal Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #106432 <2>
- Blair Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Blair Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Yellow Creek Brethren Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Clay Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Loran Methodist Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loran Methodist Cemetery
- The Loran Methodist Cemetery has also been known as:
- Evangelical Loran Cemetery
- Loran Methodist Episcopal Cemetery
- Howardsille Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Highland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Holley Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Continue List (291 more) ...
- Holly Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Stone Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Kent had a population of 70 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Kent, with the one closest to Kent listed first.
- Yellow Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Yellow Creek is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Creek
- Loran
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Loran is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loran
- Lena
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lena is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,680 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lena <1>
- Stockton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Eleroy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Waddams Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Waddams Grove is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waddams Grove
- Pleasant Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Valley is located in Jo Daviess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
- Nora
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Bolton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bolton is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton
- Damascus
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Damascus is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
- Massbach
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Massbach is located in Jo Daviess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massbach
- McConnell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Warren
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Kittredge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Kittredge is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kittredge
- Shannon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Kent. See our List of 1890's Communities around Kent.
Newspapers Published in Kent ...
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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kent.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Kent, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Kent.
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 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 Kent:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Stephenson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carroll County
- Jo Daviess County
- Ogle County
- Whiteside County
- Winnebago County
- Clinton County
- Jackson County
- Green County
- Lafayette 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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Kent) 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 Kent, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |