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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 Metamora (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 Metamora. 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.

Name Variations for Metamora ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

In past government published Postal Guides, Metamora was referred to as Metamora Courthouse.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Metamora. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Metamora.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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.

Metamora is located in Woodford 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 Woodford County: La Salle, Livingston, Marshall, McLean, Peoria & Tazewell.

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

  • Woodford County     (The home county of Metamora)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Metamora, with the one closest to Metamora listed first.
    • Germantown Hills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Eureka
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Bay View Gardens
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Bay View Gardens is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View Gardens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 407 people
    • Roanoke
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Spring Bay
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Spring Bay is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Bay
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 456 people
    • Washburn
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Secor
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Goodfield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Benson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Congerville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • El Paso
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Minonk
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Bureau County
    • Milo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Milo is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo
  • La Salle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Metamora, with the one closest to Metamora listed first.
    • Rutland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Dana
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Leeds
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Leeds is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds
    • Priscilla ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Priscilla is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Priscilla
    • Lostant
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Lostant is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lostant
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 477 people
      • Lostant has also been known as:
      • Lost Ant
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lostant <1>
  • Livingston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Metamora, with the one closest to Metamora listed first.
    • Flanagan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Long Point
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Ancona
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Metamora, with the one closest to Metamora listed first.
    • Hopewell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Hopewell is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 394 people
    • La Rose
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Lacon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • 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
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Toluca
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Varna
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Henry
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Henry is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,230 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henry <1>
    • Evans ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Evans is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
    • Camp Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Wenona
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • McLean County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Metamora, with the one closest to Metamora listed first.
    • Carlock
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Danvers
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Danvers is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danvers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,093 people
      • Danvers has also been known as:
      • Danver
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danvers <1>
    • Hudson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Yuton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Yuton is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuton
    • Gridley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Stanford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Normal
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Meadows
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Meadows is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
    • Bloomington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Towanda
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Peoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Metamora, with the one closest to Metamora listed first.
    • Rome
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Chillicothe
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Mossville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Peoria Heights
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • North Peoria
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • North Peoria is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Peoria
    • Keller
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Keller is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keller
    • Peoria
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • West Peoria
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Orange Prairie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Edelstein
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Dunlap
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Pottstown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Pottstown is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottstown
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Metamora, with the one closest to Metamora listed first.
    • Magnolia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Putnam
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • McNabb
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Mount Palatine
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Mount Palatine is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Palatine
  • Stark County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Metamora, with the one closest to Metamora listed first.
    • Speer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Castleton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Wyoming
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Bradford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Tazewell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Metamora, with the one closest to Metamora listed first.
    • Washington
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Harvard Hills
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Harvard Hills is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard Hills
    • Beverly Manor
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Beverly Manor is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly Manor
    • Trailpark Gardens
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Trailpark Gardens is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailpark Gardens
    • Cooper
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Cooper is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper
    • Robein
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Robein is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robein
    • Sunnyland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Crandall ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Crandall is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crandall
    • Deer Creek
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Farmdale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Farmdale is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmdale
    • Mayfair
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Mayfair is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfair
    • Highway Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Highway Village is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highway Village

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

Cemeteries Near Metamora ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Metamora.

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

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

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

  • St. Marys Roman Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • County Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Morristown Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Hickory Point Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Union Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Cemetery
    • The Union Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hartman Cemetery
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Harmony Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Wrenn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Woosley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Winkler Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Imhoff Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (302 more) ...
    • Haedicke Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Apostolic Christian Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Lone Hill Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)

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 Metamora had a population of 758 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Metamora had a population of 3,648 people.

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

  • Cazenovia
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Cazenovia is located in Woodford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cazenovia
  • Cruger
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cruger is located in Woodford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cruger
  • Washington
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Low Point
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Low Point is located in Woodford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Point
  • Eureka
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Roanoke
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Spring Bay
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Spring Bay is located in Woodford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Bay
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 456 people
  • Cooper
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Cooper is located in Tazewell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper
  • Washburn
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Rome
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Chillicothe
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Mossville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Farmdale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Farmdale is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmdale
    • Crandall ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Crandall is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crandall
    • Deer Creek
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Metamora ...

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 274 newspapers that have been published in the area around Metamora.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Metamora. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Metamora and those printed in the larger area surrounding Metamora.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<3> of Metamora.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Metamora:

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 Metamora, 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- Metamora) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.