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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 Lakewood (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 Lakewood. 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 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.

Lakewood is located in Shelby 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 Shelby County: Christian, Coles, Cumberland, Effingham, Fayette, Macon, Montgomery & Moultrie.

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

  • Shelby County     (The home county of Lakewood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lakewood, with the one closest to Lakewood listed first.
    • Tower Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cowden
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Shelbyville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Fancher
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Fancher is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancher
    • Herrick
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Mode
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Mode is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mode
    • Middlesworth
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Middlesworth is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesworth
    • Oconee
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Stewardson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Strasburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Yantisville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Yantisville is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yantisville
    • Findlay
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Windsor
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Christian County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lakewood, with the one closest to Lakewood listed first.
    • Pana
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Pana is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pana
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,327 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pana <1>
    • Rosamond
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Assumption
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Millersville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Millersville is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersville
    • Owaneco
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Velma
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Velma is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Velma
    • Sandersville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Sandersville is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandersville
    • Stonington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Taylorville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Clarksdale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Clarksdale is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksdale
    • Palmer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Langleyville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Langleyville is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langleyville
    • Morrisonville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Coles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lakewood, with the one closest to Lakewood listed first.
    • Magnet
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Magnet is located in Coles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnet
    • Trilla
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Mattoon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Cumberland County
    • Neoga
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Neoga is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neoga
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,585 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Neoga <1>
  • Effingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lakewood, with the one closest to Lakewood listed first.
    • Beecher City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Beecher City is located in Effingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beecher City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 451 people
    • Moccasin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Moccasin is located in Effingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moccasin
    • Shumway
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Altamont
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Dexter
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Dexter is located in Effingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dexter
    • Funkhouser
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Funkhouser is located in Effingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Funkhouser
    • Green Creek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Green Creek is located in Effingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Creek
    • Effingham
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Gilmore
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Gilmore is located in Effingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
    • Heartville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Heartville is located in Effingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heartville
    • Teutopolis
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Watson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Mason
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Mason is located in Effingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 333 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mason <1>
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lakewood, with the one closest to Lakewood listed first.
    • Holliday
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Holliday is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holliday
    • Dressor
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Dressor is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dressor
    • Ramsey
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Saint Elmo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Bayle City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Bayle City is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayle City
    • Avena
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Avena is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avena
    • Howards Point ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Howards Point is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howards Point
    • Brownstown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Bingham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bluff City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Bluff City is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
    • Vandalia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Loogootee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Hagarstown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Macon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lakewood, with the one closest to Lakewood listed first.
    • Macon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Blue Mound
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hervey City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Hervey City is located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hervey City
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lakewood, with the one closest to Lakewood listed first.
    • Ohlman
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Nokomis
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Wenonah
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Wenonah is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wenonah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
    • Coalton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Coalton is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 282 people
    • Fillmore
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Witt
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Witt is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Witt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 833 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Witt <1>
    • Chapman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Chapman is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapman
    • Irving
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Coffeen
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Moultrie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lakewood, with the one closest to Lakewood listed first.
    • Bethany
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Dunn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Dunn is located in Moultrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn
    • Gays
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Gays is located in Moultrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gays
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gays <1>
    • Sullivan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Allenville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Allenville is located in Moultrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
    • Coles
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Coles is located in Moultrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coles
    • Dalton City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Cushman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Cushman is located in Moultrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cushman
    • Lovington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Lakewood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lakewood.

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 Lakewood - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Horsman Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Ridge Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Red Bank Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Harmon Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Reed Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Olive Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hudson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Center Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Hodson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Walker Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Edwards Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (404 more) ...
    • Bateman Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Mound Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Moore Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Lakewood had a population of 72 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Cowden
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Tower Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Fancher
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Fancher is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancher
  • Shelbyville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Herrick
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Holliday
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Holliday is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holliday
  • Henton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Henton is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henton
  • Mode
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Mode is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mode
  • Pana
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Pana is located in Christian County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pana
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,327 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pana <1>
  • Oconee
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Beecher City
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Beecher City is located in Effingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beecher City
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 451 people
  • Middlesworth
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Middlesworth is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesworth
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Dressor
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Dressor is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dressor
    • Dunkel
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Dunkel is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkel
    • Moccasin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Moccasin is located in Effingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moccasin

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

Newspapers Published in Lakewood ...

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 66 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lakewood.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lakewood, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lakewood.

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 Lakewood:

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>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 Lakewood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Lakewood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.