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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 La Fayette (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 La Fayette. 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 La Fayette ...

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.

Another variation: Lafayette.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

La Fayette is located in Stark 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 Stark County: Bureau, Henry, Knox, Marshall & Peoria.

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

  • Stark County     (The home county of La Fayette)
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Fayette, with the one closest to La Fayette listed first.
    • Toulon
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • West Jersey
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • West Jersey is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Jersey
    • Wyoming
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Modena
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Modena is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modena
    • Osceola
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Osceola is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
    • Castleton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Bradford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Speer
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Bureau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Fayette, with the one closest to La Fayette listed first.
    • Neponset
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Mineral
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Milo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Milo is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo
    • Buda
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Sheffield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Wyanet
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Tiskilwa
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Manlius
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • New Bedford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Fulton County
    • Farmington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Henry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Fayette, with the one closest to La Fayette listed first.
    • Galva
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Kewanee
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Bishop Hill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Cambridge
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Woodhull
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Annawan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Andover
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Atkinson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Alpha
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Osco
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Lynn Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Ophiem
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Ophiem is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ophiem
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Fayette, with the one closest to La Fayette listed first.
    • Victoria
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Altona
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Williamsfield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Oneida
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Dahinda
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Appleton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Appleton is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
    • Wataga
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Knox
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Knox is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knox
    • East Galesburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • East Galesburg is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Galesburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 761 people
    • Gilson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Henderson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Knoxville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Fayette, with the one closest to La Fayette listed first.
    • Camp Grove
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Hopewell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Hopewell is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 394 people
    • Sparland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Lacon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Lacon is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,713 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacon <1>
  • Mercer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Fayette, with the one closest to La Fayette listed first.
    • New Windsor
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • New Windsor is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Windsor
    • Windsor
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Windsor is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 760 people
    • North Henderson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Griffin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Griffin is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin
    • Alexis
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Peoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Fayette, with the one closest to La Fayette listed first.
    • Elmore
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Elmore is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
    • Laura
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Monica
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Monica is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monica
    • Princeville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Brimfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Edelstein
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • West Hallock
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • West Hallock is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hallock
    • Elmwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Dunlap
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Edwards
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Chillicothe
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Orange Prairie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Putnam County
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Fayette, with the one closest to La Fayette listed first.
    • Shanghai City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Shanghai City is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanghai City
    • Utah
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Utah is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utah
    • Surrey
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Surrey is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surrey
  • Woodford County
    • Spring Bay
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Spring Bay is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Bay
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 456 people

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

Cemeteries Near La Fayette ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of La Fayette.

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 La Fayette - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • LaFayette Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Fraker Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Himes Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • McClenahan Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Galva Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Saxon Community Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Cavanagh Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Evergreen Memory Garden Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Shockley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • West Jersey Methodist Churchyard Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Toulon Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (264 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that La Fayette had a population of 250 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, La Fayette had a population of 195 people.

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

  • Toulon
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Saxon ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Saxon is located in Henry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxon
  • Galva
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • West Jersey
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • West Jersey is located in Stark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Jersey
  • Victoria
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Elmira
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Kewanee
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Bishop Hill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Altona
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Elmore
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Elmore is located in Peoria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
  • Wyoming
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Truro
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Truro is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truro
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Waldron ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Waldron is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
    • Modena
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Modena is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modena
    • Williamsfield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in La Fayette ...

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 136 newspapers that have been published in the area around La Fayette.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of La Fayette, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for La Fayette.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 La Fayette:

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 La Fayette, 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 from Point A (ie- La Fayette) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.