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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 Nelson (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 Nelson. 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 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.

Nelson is located in Lee 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 Lee County: Bureau, DeKalb, La Salle, Ogle & Whiteside.

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

  • Lee County     (The home county of Nelson)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
    • Prairieville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Prairieville is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
    • Harmon
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Dixon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Eldena
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Nachusa
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Amboy
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Franklin Grove
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Lee Center
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Inlet
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Inlet is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inlet
    • Ashton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Sublette
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • West Brooklyn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Bureau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
    • Walnut
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Ohio
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • New Bedford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Yorktown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Yorktown is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorktown
    • Kasbeer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Limerick
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Limerick is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limerick
    • Van Orin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Manlius
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Greenoak
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Greenoak is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenoak
    • La Moille
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Dover
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Arlington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Carroll County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
    • Hazelhurst
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Hazelhurst is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelhurst
    • South Elkhorn
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • South Elkhorn is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elkhorn
    • Milledgeville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Hitt
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Hitt is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hitt
    • Elkhorn Grove
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Elkhorn Grove is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn Grove
    • Fair Haven
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Fair Haven is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Haven
    • Chadwick
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Ideal
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Ideal is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ideal
    • Lanark
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Shannon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Argo Fay
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Argo Fay is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo Fay
    • Daggett ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Daggett is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daggett
  • Henry County
    • Hooppole
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
  • La Salle County
    • Mendota
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Ogle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
    • Woosung
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Buffalo Grove
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Buffalo Grove is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Grove
    • Polo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Carthage
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Carthage is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carthage
    • Brookville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Brookville is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookville
    • Haldane
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Haldane is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haldane
    • Maryland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Maryland is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryland
    • Mount Morris
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Oregon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Watertown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Watertown is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watertown
    • Honey Creek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Honey Creek is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
    • Forreston
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
  • Stephenson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
    • Florence
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Florence is located in Stephenson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
    • German Valley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Whiteside County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
    • Rock Falls
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Sterling
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Penrose
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Penrose is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penrose
    • Galt
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Coleta
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Deer Grove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Tampico
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Malvern
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Malvern is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malvern
    • White Pigeon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • White Pigeon is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Pigeon
    • Lyndon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Morrison
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Prophetstown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Clinton County (IA)
    • Clinton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Clinton is located in Clinton County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,039 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clinton <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Nelson ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Nelson.

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

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

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

  • Nelson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Odd Fellows Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Rock Ridge Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Prairieville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Science Ridge Mennonite Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Centenary Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Emanuel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Sugar Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (233 more) ...
    • Golder Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Oak Knoll Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Oak Knoll 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Nelson had a population of 48 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Nelson had a population of 156 people.

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

  • Prairieville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Prairieville is located in Lee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
  • Rock Falls
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Sterling
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Harmon
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Penrose
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Penrose is located in Whiteside County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penrose
  • Dixon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Como
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Como is located in Whiteside County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Como
  • Woosung
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Emerson
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Emerson is located in Whiteside County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson
  • Galt
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Walton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Walton is located in Lee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walton
  • Eldena
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Nachusa
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Hazelhurst
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Hazelhurst is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelhurst
    • Grand Detour
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Nelson ...

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 181 newspapers that have been published in the area around Nelson.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Nelson, 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 Nelson.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Nelson:

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 Nelson, 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 from Point A (ie- Nelson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.