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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 Northfield (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 Northfield. 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 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.

Northfield 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 Northfield. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Northfield:

  • Cook County     (The home county of Northfield)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Northfield, with the one closest to Northfield listed first.
    • Winnetka
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Glencoe
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Colonial Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Colonial Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
    • Glenview
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Techny
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Kenilworth
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Northbrook
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Golf
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Wilmette
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Covenant Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Covenant Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covenant Village
    • Morton Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Skokie
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • The Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • The Grove is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Grove
  • DuPage County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Northfield, with the one closest to Northfield listed first.
    • Bensenville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Wood Dale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Itasca
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Addison
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Elmhurst
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Medinah
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Roselle
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • South Elmhurst
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • South Elmhurst is located in DuPage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elmhurst
    • Bloomingdale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Villa Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Villa Park is located in DuPage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,291 people
    • Keeneyville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Keeneyville is located in DuPage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeneyville
    • Lombard
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Oak Brook Terrace
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
  • Kane County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Northfield, with the one closest to Northfield listed first.
    • East Dundee
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Carpentersville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Elgin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Coleman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Coleman is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
    • Sleepy Hollow
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • South Elgin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • South Elgin is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elgin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 24,646 people
    • West Dundee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Gilberts
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Geneva
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Saint Charles
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Northfield, with the one closest to Northfield listed first.
    • Braeside
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Braeside is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braeside
    • Ravinia
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Ravinia is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravinia
    • Highland Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Deerfield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Highwood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Bannockburn
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Riverwoods
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Lincolnshire
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Buffalo Grove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Aptakisic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Aptakisic is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aptakisic
    • Lake Forest
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Prairie View
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Prairie View is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie View
    • Lake Bluff
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • McHenry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Northfield, with the one closest to Northfield listed first.
    • Fox River Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Island Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Island Lake is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,951 people
    • Oakwood Hills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Oakwood Hills is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,011 people
    • Cary
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Cary is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,929 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cary <1>
    • Trout Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Trout Valley is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trout Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 508 people
    • Holiday Hills
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Holiday Hills is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 574 people
    • Algonquin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Barreville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Barreville is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barreville
    • Lakemoor
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Prairie Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Prairie Grove is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,920 people
    • Lake-in-the-Hills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Terra Cotta
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Terra Cotta is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terra Cotta
    • Crystal Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Will County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Northfield, with the one closest to Northfield listed first.
    • Colonial Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Colonial Village is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
    • Winston Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Winston Village is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winston Village
  • Kenosha County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Northfield, with the one closest to Northfield listed first.
    • Fossland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Fossland is located in Kenosha County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fossland
    • Pleasant Prairie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Pleasant Prairie is located in Kenosha County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Prairie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,373 people

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

Cemeteries Near Northfield ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Northfield.

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

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

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

  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Sunset Memorial Lawns
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Dewes Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Memorial Park Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Wilmette.
    • The St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Gross Point Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2188989 <2>
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Ridgewood Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgewood Memorial Park
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Ridgewood Memorial Park is a very large cemetery that is located in Glenview.
    • The Ridgewood Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Ridgewood Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #107685 <2>
  • St. Matthews Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Beth Jacob Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • St. Pauls Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (273 more) ...
    • St. Peters Catholic Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Northfield Union Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Maryhill Catholic Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryhill Catholic Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Maryhill Catholic Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Niles.
      • The Maryhill Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Mary Hill Cemetery
      • Maryhill Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #106764 <2>

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

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

  • Lakeview
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Lakeview is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
  • Glencoe
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Wilmette
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Kenilworth
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Shermerville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Shermerville is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shermerville
  • The Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • The Grove is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Grove
  • Morton Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • North Evanston
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • North Evanston is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Evanston
  • Ravinia
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Ravinia is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravinia
  • Highland Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Niles
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Deerfield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • North Northfield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • North Northfield is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Northfield
    • Ridgeland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Ridgeland is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeland
    • Des Plaines
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Northfield ...

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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around Northfield.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Northfield, there are papers which were published within 5 miles [8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Northfield.

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 Northfield:

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