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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 Oak Openings (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 Oak Openings. 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.

Oak Openings is located in Kane 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 Kane County: Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Kendall, McHenry & Will.

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

  • Kane County     (The home county of Oak Openings)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Openings, with the one closest to Oak Openings listed first.
    • Lily Lake
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Lily Lake is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lily Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,019 people
    • Elburn
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Campton Hills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Campton Hills is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campton Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,063 people
      • Campton Hills has also been known as:
      • Campton Hills village
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Campton Hills <1>
    • Wasco
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Virgil
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bonnie
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Bonnie is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnie
      • Bonnie has also been known as:
      • Bonnie Valley
    • Bowes Bend
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Bowes Bend is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowes Bend
    • Plato Center
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Saint Charles
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Kaneville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Maple Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Geneva
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Openings, with the one closest to Oak Openings listed first.
    • Herbert
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Herbert is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herbert
    • Garden Prairie
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Irene
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Irene is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irene
    • Belvidere
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Cook County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Openings, with the one closest to Oak Openings listed first.
    • Streamwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Hanover Park
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Hoffman Estates
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Barrington Hills
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Barrington Hills is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrington Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,152 people
    • South Barrington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • South Barrington is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,976 people
    • Schaumburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Barrington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Inverness
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Elk Grove Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Fairfax Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairfax Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax Village
    • Plum Grove Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Plum Grove Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Grove Village
    • Rolling Meadows
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • DeKalb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Openings, with the one closest to Oak Openings listed first.
    • Cortland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Sycamore
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Sycamore is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,317 people
    • Charter Grove
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Charter Grove is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charter Grove
    • New Lebanon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • New Lebanon is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lebanon
    • Hinckley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Coltonville ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Coltonville is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coltonville
    • De Kalb
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Brush Point ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Brush Point is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Point
    • Genoa
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Elva
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Elva is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elva
    • Franks
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Franks is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franks
    • Clare
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • DuPage County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Openings, with the one closest to Oak Openings listed first.
    • Wayne
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • West Chicago
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • West Chicago is located in DuPage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chicago
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,593 people
    • Ingalton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Ingalton is located in DuPage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingalton
    • Bartlett
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Eola
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Winfield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Warrenville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Carol Stream
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Cloverdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Cloverdale is located in DuPage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
    • Keeneyville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Keeneyville is located in DuPage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeneyville
    • Wheaton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Bloomingdale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Kendall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Openings, with the one closest to Oak Openings listed first.
    • Little Rock
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Little Rock is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock
    • Montgomery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Boulder Hill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Boulder Hill is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder Hill
    • Bristol
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Oswego
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Plano
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Plano is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,879 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plano <1>
    • Yorkville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Millbrook
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Plattville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Plattville is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
    • Newark
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • La Salle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Openings, with the one closest to Oak Openings listed first.
    • Millington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Leland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Sheridan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Openings, with the one closest to Oak Openings listed first.
    • Lake Barrington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Lake Barrington is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,840 people
    • Deer Park
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Fox River Valley Gardens
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • North Barrington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • North Barrington is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,938 people
    • Port Barrington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Port Barrington is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,481 people
      • Port Barrington has also been known as:
      • Port Barrington village
    • Lake Zurich
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Tower Lakes
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Tower Lakes is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Lakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
    • Kildeer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Forest Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Forest Lake is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Lake
    • Wauconda
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Buffalo Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Gilmer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Gilmer is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmer
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Openings, with the one closest to Oak Openings listed first.
    • Lee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • East Paw Paw
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • East Paw Paw is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Paw Paw
    • Steward
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • McHenry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Openings, with the one closest to Oak Openings listed first.
    • Huntley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Algonquin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake-in-the-Hills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Lakewood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Crystal Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Union
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Trout Valley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Trout Valley is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trout Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 508 people
    • Marengo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Cary
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Fox River Grove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Ridgefield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Ridgefield is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgefield
    • Oakwood Hills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Oakwood Hills is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,011 people
  • Ogle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Openings, with the one closest to Oak Openings listed first.
    • Creston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Monroe Center
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Lindenwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Will County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Openings, with the one closest to Oak Openings listed first.
    • Normantown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Normantown is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normantown
    • Plainfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Walker
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Walker is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
    • Winston Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Winston Village is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winston Village
    • Bloomfield Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Bloomfield Village is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield Village
    • Bolingbrook
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Colonial Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Colonial Village is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
    • Romeoville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Summerfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Summerfield is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield
    • Crystal Lawns
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Crystal Lawns is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lawns

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

Cemeteries Near Oak Openings ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak Openings.

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 Oak Openings - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • New Hampshire Settlement Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Lily Lake Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • St. Gall Catholic Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Blackberry Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Garfield Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Whitney Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • St.s Peter & Paul's Catholic Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • L R Baker Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Thatcher Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Gardner Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Old St. Mary's Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Lance Souders Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lance Souders Cemetery
    • The Lance Souders Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Lance - Sounders Family Cemetery
  • Continue List   (333 more) ...
    • Prairie Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • South Burlington Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • St. Marys Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)

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

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

  • Lily Lake
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Lily Lake is located in Kane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lily Lake
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,019 people
  • Elburn
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Wasco
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Bald Mound
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bald Mound is located in Kane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Mound
  • Plato Center
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Richardson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Richardson is located in Kane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardson
  • Maple Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Kaneville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Saint Charles
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Youngsdale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Youngsdale is located in Kane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngsdale
  • Geneva
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • South Elgin
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • South Elgin is located in Kane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elgin
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 24,646 people
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Udina
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Udina is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Udina
    • North Plato
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • North Plato is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Plato
    • Batavia
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Oak Openings ...

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 88 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Openings.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak Openings, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oak Openings.

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 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 Oak Openings:

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 Oak Openings, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Oak Openings) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.