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 Lower West Side (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 Lower West Side. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.
Lower West Side is located in Cook 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 Cook County: DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, Lake (IN) & Berrien (MI).
Below are the counties that are near Lower West Side. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lower West Side:
- Cook County (The home county of Lower West Side)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lower West Side, with the one closest to Lower West Side listed first.
- Bridgeport
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Bridgeport is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
- Chicago
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Swede Town
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Swede Town is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swede Town
- West Town
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- West Town is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Town
- New City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- New City is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New City
- Canaryville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Canaryville is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canaryville
- Carl Sandburg Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Moreland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Moreland is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moreland
- Grant Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Grant Village is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Village
- Washington Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Washington Park is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Park
- Cicero
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Chicago Lawn
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Chicago Lawn is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicago Lawn
- Englewood
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Englewood is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Englewood
- DuPage County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lower West Side, with the one closest to Lower West Side listed first.
- Elmhurst
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Hinsdale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Oak Brook
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- South Elmhurst
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- South Elmhurst is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elmhurst
- Bensenville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Willowbrook
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Clarendon Hills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Oak Brook Terrace
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Oak Brook Terrace is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Brook Terrace
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,094 people
- Utopia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Utopia is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utopia
- Villa Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Villa Park is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,291 people
- Westmont
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- York Center
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- York Center is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York Center
- Darien
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lower West Side, with the one closest to Lower West Side listed first.
- Braeside
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Braeside is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braeside
- Ravinia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Ravinia is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravinia
- Highland Park
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Deerfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Riverwoods
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Highwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Bannockburn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Buffalo Grove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Aptakisic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Aptakisic is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aptakisic
- Lincolnshire
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Prairie View
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Prairie View is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie View
- Lake Forest
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Long Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Will County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lower West Side, with the one closest to Lower West Side listed first.
- Goodings Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Goodings Grove is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodings Grove
- Colonial Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Colonial Village is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
- Homer Glen
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Homer Glen is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer Glen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24,281 people
- Homer Glen has also been known as:
- Homer Glen village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Homer Glen <1>
- Winston Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Winston Village is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winston Village
- Bolingbrook
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Frankfort Square
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Frankfort Square is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankfort Square
- Bloomfield Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Bloomfield Village is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield Village
- Mokena
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Frankfort
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Steger
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Lockport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Romeoville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Gilletts ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Gilletts is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilletts
- Lake County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lower West Side, with the one closest to Lower West Side listed first.
- Whiting
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- East Chicago
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Hammond
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hessville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hessville is located in Lake County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hessville
- Munster
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Highland
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Gary
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Gary is located in Lake County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74,693 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gary <1>
- Dyer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Dyer is located in Lake County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dyer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,955 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dyer <1>
- Griffith
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Duneland Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Duneland Village is located in Lake County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duneland Village
- Hartsdale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hartsdale is located in Lake County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsdale
- Duneland Village of Gary
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ross
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ross is located in Lake County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
- Porter County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lower West Side, with the one closest to Lower West Side listed first.
- Ogden Dunes
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ogden Dunes is located in Porter County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden Dunes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,083 people
- Willow Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Willow Creek is located in Porter County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Creek
- Woodland Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Woodland Village is located in Porter County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Lower West Side, see our County-by-County Page for Lower West Side.
Cemeteries Near Lower West Side ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lower West Side.
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 Lower West Side - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Lower West Side covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lower West Side, with the one closest to Lower West Side listed first.
- Couch Mausoleum
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Auburn Memorial Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Woods Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hebrew Benevolent Society Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Wunder's Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wunder's Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Wunder's Cemetery is located in Buena Park.
- The Wunder's Cemetery has also been known as:
- Wunders Lutheran Cemetery
- Graceland Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Getty Tomb
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Joseph and Sons Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Free Sons of Israel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Waldheim Jewish Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Waldheim Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Continue List (316 more) ...
- St. Mary Catholic Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- St. Boniface Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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 Lower West Side in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Lower West Side.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Lower West Side, with the one closest to Lower West Side listed first.
- Bridgeport
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Bridgeport is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
- Brighton Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Brighton Park is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton Park
- Douglas
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Douglas is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Chicago
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Corwith
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Corwith is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corwith
- Oakland
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Oakland is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Central Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Central Park is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Park
- Crawford
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Crawford is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Glendale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Glendale is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Kenwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Kenwood is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenwood
- Humboldt
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Humboldt is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humboldt
- Simons
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Simons is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simons
- Continue List (22 more) ...
- Humboldt Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Humboldt Park is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humboldt Park
- Moreland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Moreland is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moreland
- Mandell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mandell is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandell
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Lower West Side. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lower West Side.
Newspapers Published in Lower West Side ...
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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lower West Side.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lower West Side, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lower West Side.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Lower West Side:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Cook County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- DuPage County
- Lake County
- Will County
- Lake County
- Porter 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 Lower West Side, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Lower West Side) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |