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 Oakwood Estates (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 Oakwood Estates. 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 Oakwood Estates ...
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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Oakwood Estates: Oakwood Ests.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Oakwood Estates. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Oakwood Estates.
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 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.
Oakwood Estates is located in Will 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 Will County: Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall & Lake (IN).
Below are the counties that are near Oakwood Estates. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oakwood Estates:
- Will County (The home county of Oakwood Estates)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Estates, with the one closest to Oakwood Estates listed first.
- Rockdale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Rockdale is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,884 people
- Shorewood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Crystal Lawns
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Crystal Lawns is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lawns
- Summerfield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Summerfield is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield
- Joliet
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Preston Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Preston Heights is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston Heights
- Crest Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- East Joliet
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- East Joliet is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Joliet
- Ingalls Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Ingalls Park is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingalls Park
- Fairmont
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Fairmont is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont
- Cherry Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Cherry Hill is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Hill
- Walker
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Walker is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
- Elwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Cook County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Estates, with the one closest to Oakwood Estates listed first.
- Lemont
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Orland Hills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Orland Park
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Tinley Park
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Palos Park
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Burr Ridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Willow Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Matteson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Palos Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Palos Hills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Forest
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Hickory Hills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Indian Head Park
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Indian Head Park is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,680 people
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Estates, with the one closest to Oakwood Estates listed first.
- Sandwich
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Somonauk
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Franks
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Franks is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franks
- Hinckley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- DuPage County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Estates, with the one closest to Oakwood Estates listed first.
- Tedens ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Tedens is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tedens
- Woodridge
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Naperville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Eola
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Darien
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Lisle
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Willowbrook
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Downers Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Warrenville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Westmont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Clarendon Hills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hinsdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Brook
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Grundy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Estates, with the one closest to Oakwood Estates listed first.
- Minooka
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Channahon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Sand Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sand Ridge is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Ridge
- Diamond
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Carbon Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Carbon Hill is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
- Claypool
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Claypool is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claypool
- Gaslight Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gaslight Village is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaslight Village
- Morris
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coal City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Centerville ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Centerville is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Braceville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Central City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Central City is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
- Nettle Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Nettle Creek is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettle Creek
- Kane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Estates, with the one closest to Oakwood Estates listed first.
- Aurora
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Mooseheart
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- North Aurora
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- North Aurora is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Aurora
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,144 people
- Sugar Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Batavia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Big Rock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Geneva
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Saint Charles
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Kaneville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bonnie
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Bonnie is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnie
- Bonnie has also been known as:
- Bonnie Valley
- Elburn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Kankakee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Estates, with the one closest to Oakwood Estates listed first.
- Essex
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Manteno
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bonfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Bourbonnais
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Goodrich
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Goodrich is located in Kankakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodrich
- Union Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Reddick
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Bradley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Limestone
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Limestone is located in Kankakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,498 people
- Saint George
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Saint George is located in Kankakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint George
- Kendall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Estates, with the one closest to Oakwood Estates listed first.
- Plattville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Plattville is located in Kendall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
- Oswego
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Boulder Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Boulder Hill is located in Kendall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder Hill
- Lisbon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Lisbon is located in Kendall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
- Bristol
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Montgomery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Yorkville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Millbrook
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Plano
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Newark
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Little Rock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Little Rock is located in Kendall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock
- La Salle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Estates, with the one closest to Oakwood Estates listed first.
- Millington
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Stavanger
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Stavanger is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stavanger
- Sheridan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Seneca
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Seneca is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,217 people
- Seneca has also been known as:
- Crotty
- Seneca village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seneca <1>
- Serena
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Blakes
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Blakes is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blakes
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oakwood Estates, see our County-by-County Page for Oakwood Estates.
Cemeteries Near Oakwood Estates ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oakwood Estates.
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 Oakwood Estates - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oakwood Estates covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oakwood Estates, with the one closest to Oakwood Estates listed first.
- County Farm Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Woodlawn Memorial Park #2
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Hills of Rest Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Woodlawn Memorial Park #1
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Zarley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zarley Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Zarley Cemetery is located in Joliet.
- The Zarley Cemetery has also been known as:
- Desplaines Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1269046 <2>
- St. Patricks Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- St. John the Baptist Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. John the Baptist Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. John the Baptist Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Joliet.
- The St. John the Baptist Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Johns Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #107908 <2>
- Troutman Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Moriah Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (374 more) ...
- Illinois State Prison Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illinois State Prison Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Illinois State Prison Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the north of Joliet.
- The Illinois State Prison Cemetery has also been known as:
- Stateville Prison Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1990082 <2>
- St. Mary Nativity Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Elmhurst Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmhurst Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Elmhurst Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Joliet.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #105558 <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.<4>
While we didn't find Oakwood Estates in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oakwood Estates.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oakwood Estates, with the one closest to Oakwood Estates listed first.
- Joliet
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Coynes
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Coynes is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coynes
- Millsdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Millsdale is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millsdale
- Caton Farm
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Caton Farm is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caton Farm
- East Joliet
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- East Joliet is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Joliet
- Minooka
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Drummond
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Drummond is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drummond
- Walker
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Walker is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
- Channahon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Plainfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Elwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Lockport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Blodgett
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Blodgett is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blodgett
- Sand Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sand Ridge is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Ridge
- Normantown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Normantown is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normantown
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oakwood Estates. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oakwood Estates.
Newspapers Published in Oakwood Estates ...
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 Oakwood Estates.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oakwood Estates, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oakwood Estates.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Oakwood Estates:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Will County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cook County
- DeKalb County
- DuPage County
- Grundy County
- Kane County
- Kankakee County
- Kendall County
- La Salle County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Illinois
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Oakwood Estates) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Oakwood Estates, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |