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 Kings Island (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 Kings Island. 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 Kings Island ...
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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Kings Island: Kings Is. (in Canada, 'Isld.' is the more common abbreviation.)
- While the name of this community is Kings Island, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Kings Island may originally have been King's Island.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Kings Island might be written as King Island.
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 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.
Kings Island is located in Lake 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 Lake County: Cook, McHenry, Allegan (MI), Berrien (MI), Van Buren (MI) & Kenosha (WI).
Below are the counties that are near Kings Island. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Kings Island:
- Lake County (The home county of Kings Island)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kings Island, with the one closest to Kings Island listed first.
- Ingleside
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Long Lake
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Long Lake is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lake
- Monaville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Monaville is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monaville
- Round Lake Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Fox Lake
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Fox Lake Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fox Lake Hills is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Lake Hills
- Volo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Fort Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Hill is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Hill
- Round Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Round Lake Beach
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Lake Villa
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Villa is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Villa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,525 people
- Round Lake Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Boone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kings Island, with the one closest to Kings Island listed first.
- Capron
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Garden Prairie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Cook County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kings Island, with the one closest to Kings Island listed first.
- Barrington Hills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Barrington Hills is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrington Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,152 people
- Barrington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Capri Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Capri Village is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capri Village
- Inverness
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Palatine
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- South Barrington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- South Barrington is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Barrington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,976 people
- Plum Grove Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Plum Grove Village is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Grove Village
- Winthrop Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Winthrop Village is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winthrop Village
- Wheeling
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fairfax Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Fairfax Village is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax Village
- Hoffman Estates
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Arlington Heights
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- DeKalb County
- New Lebanon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Lebanon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lebanon
- DuPage County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kings Island, with the one closest to Kings Island listed first.
- Bartlett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Keeneyville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Keeneyville is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeneyville
- Medinah
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Roselle
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Itasca
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Bloomingdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Cloverdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Cloverdale is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Wayne
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Wood Dale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Kane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kings Island, with the one closest to Kings Island listed first.
- Carpentersville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- East Dundee
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Freeman
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Freeman is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- West Dundee
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sleepy Hollow
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Gilberts
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Elgin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Hampshire
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Pingree Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Starks
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Starks is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starks
- North Plato
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- North Plato is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Plato
- Plato Center
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- McHenry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kings Island, with the one closest to Kings Island listed first.
- Pistakee Highlands
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Pistakee Highlands is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pistakee Highlands
- Sunnyside
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Sunnyside is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
- Lakemoor
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Johnsburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Spring Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- McCullom Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- McCullom Lake is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCullom Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 996 people
- Ringwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Solon Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Holiday Hills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Holiday Hills is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 574 people
- McHenry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Island Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Island Lake is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,951 people
- Barreville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Barreville is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barreville
- Kenosha County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kings Island, with the one closest to Kings Island listed first.
- Benet Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Benet Lake is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benet Lake
- Lake Shangrila
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Shangrila is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Shangrila
- Camp Lake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Camp Lake is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Lake
- Twin Lakes
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Twin Lakes is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,234 people
- Fox River
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Fox River is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox River
- Salem Lakes
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Salem Lakes is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem Lakes
- Former names for Salem Lakes:
- Salem
- Silver Lake
- Paddock Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Paddock Lake is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,232 people
- Bristol
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bristol is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,145 people
- Fossland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Fossland is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fossland
- Powers Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Powers Lake is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powers Lake
- Slades Corners
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Slades Corners is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slades Corners
- Woodworth
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Woodworth is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodworth
- Racine County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kings Island, with the one closest to Kings Island listed first.
- Bohners Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Bohners Lake is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bohners Lake
- Burlington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Burlington is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,898 people
- Browns Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Browns Lake is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Lake
- Union Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Union Grove is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,266 people
- Eagle Lake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Eagle Lake is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Lake
- Rochester
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Rochester is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,880 people
- Honey Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Honey Creek is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Yorkville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Yorkville is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkville
- Waterford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Waterford is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,618 people
- Sturtevant
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sturtevant is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturtevant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,637 people
- Mount Pleasant
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 27,048 people
- Elmwood Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Elmwood Park is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 488 people
- Walworth County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kings Island, with the one closest to Kings Island listed first.
- Genoa City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Genoa City is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genoa City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,981 people
- Pell Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pell Lake is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pell Lake
- Zenda
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Zenda is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenda
- Lake Geneva
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Geneva is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Geneva
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,096 people
- Lyons
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lyons is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
- Voree ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Voree is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Voree
- Lake Como Beach ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Como Beach is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Como Beach
- Lake Como
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Como is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Como
- Springfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Springfield is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Como
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Como is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Como
- Fontana-on-Geneva Lake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fontana-on-Geneva Lake is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontana-on-Geneva Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,743 people
- Big Foot Prairie
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Big Foot Prairie is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Foot Prairie
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Kings Island, see our County-by-County Page for Kings Island.
Cemeteries Near Kings Island ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kings Island.
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 Kings Island - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Kings Island covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Kings Island, with the one closest to Kings Island listed first.
- Grant Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Volo Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- East Fox Lake Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- St. Patrick Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. Peters Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Ft. Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cole Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Grass Lake Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Woodland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Orvis Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (276 more) ...
- Fisher Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Wray - Imeson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Angolian Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
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 Kings Island in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Kings Island.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Kings Island, with the one closest to Kings Island listed first.
- Volo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Fox Lake
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Johnsburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Fort Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Hill is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Hill
- Grass Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Grass Lake is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grass Lake
- Spring Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Villa
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Villa is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Villa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,525 people
- Ringwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- McHenry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hainesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rollins
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Rollins is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollins
- Loon Lake
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Loon Lake is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loon Lake
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Solon Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Grayslake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Barreville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Barreville is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barreville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Kings Island. See our List of 1890's Communities around Kings Island.
Newspapers Published in Kings Island ...
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 79 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kings Island.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Kings Island, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Kings Island.
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 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 Kings Island:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Lake County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Boone County
- Cook County
- DeKalb County
- DuPage County
- Kane County
- McHenry County
- Kenosha County
- Racine County
- Walworth County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Illinois
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Kings Island, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Kings Island) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |