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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 Leeds (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 Leeds. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Leeds is located in La Salle 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 La Salle County: Bureau, DeKalb, Grundy, Kendall, Lee, Livingston, Marshall, Putnam & Woodford.

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

  • La Salle County     (The home county of Leeds)
  • Bureau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leeds, with the one closest to Leeds listed first.
    • Spring Valley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Dalzell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • De Pue
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • De Pue is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Pue
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,665 people
    • Ottville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bureau Junction
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Ladd
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Seatonville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Hollowayville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Hollowayville is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollowayville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
    • Cherry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Grundy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leeds, with the one closest to Leeds listed first.
    • Kinsman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Highland Town ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Highland Town is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Town
    • Verona
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Livingston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leeds, with the one closest to Leeds listed first.
    • Long Point
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Ancona
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Munster
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Coalville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Vermilion City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Vermilion City is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermilion City
    • Flanagan
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Cornell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Missal
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Graymont
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Blackstone
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Budd
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Pontiac
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Pontiac is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pontiac
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,176 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pontiac <1>
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leeds, with the one closest to Leeds listed first.
    • Wenona
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Evans ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Toluca
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Varna
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • La Rose
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Henry
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Lacon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • 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>
    • Sparland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Hopewell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Hopewell is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 394 people
  • McLean County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leeds, with the one closest to Leeds listed first.
    • Gridley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Meadows
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Chenoa
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Weston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hudson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Lexington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Peoria County
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leeds, with the one closest to Leeds listed first.
    • Magnolia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Palatine
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Palatine is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Palatine
    • McNabb
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Standard
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Granville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Mark
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hennepin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Putnam
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Tazewell County
  • Woodford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leeds, with the one closest to Leeds listed first.
    • Minonk
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Woodford
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Benson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Panola
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Washburn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • El Paso
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Roanoke
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Secor
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Kappa
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Metamora
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Eureka
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Congerville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Leeds ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Leeds.

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

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

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

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 in 1895, Leeds had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Rutland
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Wenona
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Dana
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Dana is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dana <1>
  • Garfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Garfield is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
  • Long Point
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Ancona
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Reading
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Reading is located in Livingston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
  • Toluca
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Minonk
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Coalville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Lostant
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Streator
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Kangley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Wilsman
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Wilsman is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsman
    • Flanagan
      (11 miles [17.7 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 Leeds. See our List of 1890's Communities around Leeds.

Newspapers Published in Leeds ...

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 Leeds.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Leeds, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Leeds.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Leeds:

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 Leeds, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Leeds) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.