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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 Martinton (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 Martinton. 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 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.

Martinton is located in Iroquois 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 Iroquois County: Ford, Kankakee, Vermilion, Benton (IN) & Newton (IN).

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

  • Iroquois County     (The home county of Martinton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martinton, with the one closest to Martinton listed first.
    • Papineau
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Beaverville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Donovan
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • L'Erable
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • L'Erable is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for L'Erable
    • Watseka
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Iroquois
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Clifton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Chebanse
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Crescent City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Ashkum
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Woodland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Sheldon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Danforth
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Ford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martinton, with the one closest to Martinton listed first.
    • Cabery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Piper City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Kempton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Kankakee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martinton, with the one closest to Martinton listed first.
    • Saint Anne
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Sammons Point
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Sammons Point is located in Kankakee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sammons Point
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 237 people
      • Sammons Point has also been known as:
      • Sammons Point village
    • Aroma Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Hopkins Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Hopkins Park is located in Kankakee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopkins Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 608 people
      • Hopkins Park has also been known as:
      • Hopkins Park village
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hopkins Park <1>
    • Otto
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Otto is located in Kankakee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otto
    • Sun River Terrace
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Sun River Terrace is located in Kankakee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun River Terrace
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 488 people
    • Kankakee
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Irwin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Irwin is located in Kankakee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
    • Momence
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Limestone
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Limestone is located in Kankakee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,498 people
    • Bradley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Litchfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Litchfield is located in Kankakee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Litchfield
    • Illiana Heights
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Illiana Heights is located in Kankakee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illiana Heights
  • Livingston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martinton, with the one closest to Martinton listed first.
    • Cullom
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Cardiff
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Cardiff is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
    • Charlotte
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Charlotte is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlotte
  • Will County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martinton, with the one closest to Martinton listed first.
    • Peotone
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Beecher
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Custer Park
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Custer Park is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer Park
  • Benton County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martinton, with the one closest to Martinton listed first.
    • Raub
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Raub is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raub
    • Earl Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Earl Park is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earl Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 342 people
    • Freeland Park
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Freeland Park is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeland Park
    • Gravel Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Gravel Hill is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Hill
    • Dunn ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Dunn is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn
    • Wadena
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Wadena is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadena
    • Fowler
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Fowler is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,305 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fowler <1>
  • Jasper County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martinton, with the one closest to Martinton listed first.
    • Fair Oaks
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Egypt
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Egypt is located in Jasper County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
    • Collegeville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Collegeville is located in Jasper County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collegeville
    • Rensselaer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Forest City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Forest City is located in Jasper County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
  • Lake County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martinton, with the one closest to Martinton listed first.
    • Illinoi
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Illinoi is located in Lake County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illinoi
    • Schneider
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Schneider is located in Lake County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schneider
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
    • Shelby
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Shelby is located in Lake County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
    • Lowell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Lowell is located in Lake County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,137 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lowell <1>
  • Newton County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martinton, with the one closest to Martinton listed first.
    • Morocco
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Morocco is located in Newton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morocco
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,086 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morocco <1>
    • Beaver City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Beaver City is located in Newton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver City
    • Kentland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Brook
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Brook is located in Newton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brook
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 941 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brook <1>
    • Newton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Newton is located in Newton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
    • Lake Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Lake Village is located in Newton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Village
    • Foresman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Foresman is located in Newton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foresman
    • Mount Ayr
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Mount Ayr is located in Newton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Ayr
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Sumava Resorts
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Goodland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Roselawn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Roselawn is located in Newton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roselawn
    • Thayer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Thayer is located in Newton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thayer

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

Cemeteries Near Martinton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Martinton.

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

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

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

  • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Old Burg Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Teege Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Papineau Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Lyman Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Greentown Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Mary's Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Jones Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • L'Erable Catholic Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Wilson Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (159 more) ...
    • St. Anne Catholic Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Prarie Dell Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • St. Anne Twp. Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Anne Twp. Cemetery
      • The St. Anne Twp. Cemetery has also been known as:
      • St. Anne Cemetery

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 Martinton had a population of 125 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Martinton had a population of 338 people.

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

  • Papineau
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Beaverville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Donovan
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • L'Erable
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • L'Erable is located in Iroquois County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for L'Erable
  • Saint Anne
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Watseka
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Iroquois
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Eastburn
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Eastburn is located in Iroquois County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastburn
  • Clifton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Chebanse
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Ashkum
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Crescent City
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Hopkins Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Hopkins Park is located in Kankakee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopkins Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 608 people
      • Hopkins Park has also been known as:
      • Hopkins Park village
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hopkins Park <1>
    • Koster
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Koster is located in Kankakee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koster
    • Otto
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Otto is located in Kankakee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otto

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Martinton ...

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 133 newspapers that have been published in the area around Martinton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Martinton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Martinton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Martinton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4> of Martinton.

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 Martinton:

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