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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 North Prairie Acres (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 North Prairie Acres. 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 North Prairie Acres ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for North Prairie Acres: N. Prairie Acres

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.

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 northwest 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 north.

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 north 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.

North Prairie Acres is located in Douglas 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 Douglas County: Champaign, Coles, Edgar, Moultrie, Piatt & Vermilion.

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

  • Douglas County     (The home county of North Prairie Acres)
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Prairie Acres, with the one closest to North Prairie Acres listed first.
    • Tuscola
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Hayes
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Hayes is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayes
    • Patterson Springs
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Patterson Springs is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson Springs
    • Ficklin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Ficklin is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ficklin
    • Camargo
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Chicken Bristle
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Chicken Bristle is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicken Bristle
    • Villa Grove
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Villa Grove is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,414 people
    • Arcola
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Filson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Filson is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Filson
    • Garrett
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Garrett is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrett
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
    • Kemp
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Kemp is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kemp
    • Chesterville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Chesterville is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterville
    • Fairland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairland is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairland
  • Champaign County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Prairie Acres, with the one closest to North Prairie Acres listed first.
    • Pesotum
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Sadorus
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Tolono
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Tolono is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolono
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,349 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tolono <1>
    • Longview
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Ivesdale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Philo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Philo is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,378 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Philo <1>
    • Broadlands
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Savoy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Savoy is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savoy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,364 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Savoy <1>
    • Rutherford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Rutherford is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherford
    • Sidney
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Sidney is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,172 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sidney <1>
    • Mira
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Mira is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mira
    • Staley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Staley is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staley
    • Urbana
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Urbana is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbana
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 41,724 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Urbana <1>
  • Clark County
    • Westfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Coles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Prairie Acres, with the one closest to North Prairie Acres listed first.
    • Humboldt
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Bushton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Bushton is located in Coles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushton
    • Oakland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Rardin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Rardin is located in Coles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rardin
    • Cooks Mills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Cooks Mills is located in Coles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
    • Dorans
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Dorans is located in Coles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorans
    • Saint Omer ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Saint Omer is located in Coles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Omer
    • Charleston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Mattoon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Ashmore
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Magnet
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Magnet is located in Coles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnet
    • Lerna
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Hutton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Hutton is located in Coles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Prairie Acres, with the one closest to North Prairie Acres listed first.
    • Diona
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Diona is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diona
    • Janesville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Johnstown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Johnstown is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
  • Edgar County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Prairie Acres, with the one closest to North Prairie Acres listed first.
    • Brocton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Borton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Borton is located in Edgar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borton
    • Hume
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Palermo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Palermo is located in Edgar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palermo
    • Metcalf
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Redmon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Kansas
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Conlogue
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Conlogue is located in Edgar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conlogue
    • Grandview
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Grandview is located in Edgar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
  • Macon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Prairie Acres, with the one closest to North Prairie Acres listed first.
    • Casner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Casner is located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casner
    • Hervey City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Hervey City is located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hervey City
    • Long Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Long Creek is located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,262 people
  • Moultrie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Prairie Acres, with the one closest to North Prairie Acres listed first.
    • Cadwell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Cadwell is located in Moultrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cadwell
    • Lovington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Cushman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Cushman is located in Moultrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cushman
    • Allenville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Allenville is located in Moultrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
    • Coles
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Coles is located in Moultrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coles
    • Sullivan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Lake City is located in Moultrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
    • Dunn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Dunn is located in Moultrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn
    • Bethany
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Gays
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Gays is located in Moultrie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gays
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gays <1>
    • Dalton City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Piatt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Prairie Acres, with the one closest to North Prairie Acres listed first.
    • Atwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Hammond
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Voorhies
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Voorhies is located in Piatt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Voorhies
    • Bement
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Burrowsville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Burrowsville is located in Piatt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrowsville
    • Lintner
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Lintner is located in Piatt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lintner
    • Milmine
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Monticello
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • White Heath
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • La Place
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Cerro Gordo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Cisco
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • De Land
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Shelby County
    • Windsor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Vermilion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Prairie Acres, with the one closest to North Prairie Acres listed first.
    • Allerton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Archie
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Archie is located in Vermilion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archie
    • Sidell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Fairmount
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Indianola
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Fithian
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Muncie
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near North Prairie Acres ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of North Prairie Acres.

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 North Prairie Acres - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Tuscola Twp. Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuscola Twp. Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Tuscola Twp. Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Tuscola.
    • The Tuscola Twp. Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Tuscola Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #548143 <2>
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Broadus Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Upper Lester Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Lower Lester Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Nelson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Hammett Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Lewis Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Bourbon Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Jessee Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Antioch Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (294 more) ...

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 North Prairie Acres in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of North Prairie Acres.

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

  • Tuscola
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • West Ridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • West Ridge is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Ridge
  • Hayes
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Hayes is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayes
  • Ficklin
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Ficklin is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ficklin
  • Galton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Galton is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galton
  • Camargo
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Pesotum
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Bourbon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Bourbon is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bourbon
  • Hugo
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Hugo is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugo
  • Villa Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Villa Grove is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Grove
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,414 people
  • Arcola
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Filson
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Filson is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Filson
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Garrett
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Garrett is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrett
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
    • Chesterville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Chesterville is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterville
    • Kemp
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Kemp is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kemp

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

Newspapers Published in North Prairie Acres ...

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 103 newspapers that have been published in the area around North Prairie Acres.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of North Prairie Acres, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for North Prairie Acres.

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 North Prairie Acres:

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