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 Grange (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 Grange. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.
La Grange is located in Brown 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 Brown County: Adams, Cass, Morgan, Pike & Schuyler.
Below are the counties that are near La Grange. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to La Grange:
- Brown County (The home county of La Grange)
- The following are listed by their distance from La Grange, with the one closest to La Grange listed first.
- Cooperstown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Cooperstown is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooperstown
- Ripley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ripley is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
- Versailles
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gilbirds
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Gilbirds is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbirds
- Hersman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Hersman is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hersman
- Mount Sterling
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Mound Station
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Mound Station is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound Station
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Timewell
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from La Grange, with the one closest to La Grange listed first.
- Kellerville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Kellerville is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellerville
- Clayton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Blacks
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Blacks is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blacks
- Beverly
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Beverly is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
- Golden
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- La Prairie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Camp Point
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Liberty
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Cass County
- The following are listed by their distance from La Grange, with the one closest to La Grange listed first.
- Hagener
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Hagener is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagener
- Beardstown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Grove is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Arenzville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bluff Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Jules
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Jules is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jules
- Virginia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Burlingame
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Burlingame is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
- Old Princeton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Old Princeton is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Princeton
- Chandlerville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Philadelphia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Philadelphia is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philadelphia
- Sylvan ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Sylvan is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from La Grange, with the one closest to La Grange listed first.
- Astoria
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Vermont
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Marbletown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Marbletown is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marbletown
- Summum
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Summum is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summum
- Table Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Ipava
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Hancock County
- Augusta
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mason County
- The following are listed by their distance from La Grange, with the one closest to La Grange listed first.
- Snicarte
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Snicarte is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snicarte
- White City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- White City is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Bath
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- McDonough County
- The following are listed by their distance from La Grange, with the one closest to La Grange listed first.
- Doddsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Doddsville is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doddsville
- Industry
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from La Grange, with the one closest to La Grange listed first.
- Meredosia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Concord
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Morgan City ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Morgan City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan City
- Chapin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Arcadia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Arcadia is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Literberry
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Lynnville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lynnville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 113 people
- Jacksonville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- South Jacksonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- South Jacksonville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Jacksonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,075 people
- Arnold
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Arnold is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Prentice
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Prentice is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prentice
- Woodson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pike County
- The following are listed by their distance from La Grange, with the one closest to La Grange listed first.
- Chambersburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Perry
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Valley City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Valley City is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14 people
- Griggsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Florence
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Florence is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
- Detroit
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Detroit is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Detroit
- Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
- New Salem
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- New Salem is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
- Baylis
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Milton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Pittsfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bedford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Hadley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hadley is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hadley
- Schuyler County
- The following are listed by their distance from La Grange, with the one closest to La Grange listed first.
- Frederick
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rushville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Browning
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bader
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bader is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bader
- Camden
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Wayland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Wayland is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
- Littleton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Bluff City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bluff City is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Huntsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Scott County
- The following are listed by their distance from La Grange, with the one closest to La Grange listed first.
- Bluffs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Naples
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Exeter
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Exeter is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
- Oxville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Oxville is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxville
- Winchester
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Alsey
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Glasgow
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Glasgow is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
- Manchester
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to La Grange, see our County-by-County Page for La Grange.
Cemeteries Near La Grange ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of La Grange.
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 Grange - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for La Grange covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from La Grange, with the one closest to La Grange listed first.
- Hulett Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Lavina Henry Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Langford Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Adams Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cooperstown Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- De Witt Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Arnold Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Vandeventer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bush Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Black Oak Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Continue List (571 more) ...
- Howell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Naught Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Krohe Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
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 La Grange in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of La Grange.
These communities are listed based on their distance from La Grange, with the one closest to La Grange listed first.
- Cooperstown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Cooperstown is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooperstown
- Versailles
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hagener
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Hagener is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagener
- Beardstown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ripley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ripley is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
- Gilbirds
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Gilbirds is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbirds
- Meredosia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Arenzville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bluff Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Frederick
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hersman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Hersman is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hersman
- Chambersburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Pleasant View
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Pleasant View is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Concord
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rushville
(12 miles [19.3 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 La Grange. See our List of 1890's Communities around La Grange.
Newspapers Published in La Grange ...
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 139 newspapers that have been published in the area around La Grange.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of La Grange, 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 Grange.
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 websites either 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 Grange:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Brown County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- Cass County
- Fulton County
- Hancock County
- Mason County
- McDonough County
- Morgan County
- Pike County
- Schuyler County
- Scott 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> | 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 Grange, 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 Grange) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |