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 (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. 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 hospitals and 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.
Oakwood is located in Vermilion 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 Vermilion County: Champaign, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Iroquois, Benton (IN), Vermillion (IN) & Warren (IN).
Below are the counties that are near Oakwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oakwood:
- Vermilion County (The home county of Oakwood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
- Missionfield
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Missionfield is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missionfield
- Glenburn
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Glenburn is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenburn
- Belgium Row
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Belgium Row is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgium Row
- Muncie
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Hillery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hillery is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillery
- Newtown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Newtown is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
- Catlin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fairmount
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Fithian
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Tilton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Denmark ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Denmark is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Belgium
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Belgium is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgium
- Population from the 2020 Census: 362 people
- Champaign County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
- Ogden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Homer
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Royal
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Joseph
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Rutherford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Rutherford is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherford
- Penfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sidney
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Flatville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Flatville is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatville
- Mayview
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Mayview is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayview
- Broadlands
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Gifford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mira
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Mira is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mira
- Douglas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
- Fairland
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Fairland is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairland
- Newman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Murdock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Villa Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Villa Grove is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,414 people
- Camargo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Patterson Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Patterson Springs is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson Springs
- Edgar County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
- Palermo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Palermo is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palermo
- Chrisman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Metcalf
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Hume
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Scottland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Scottland is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottland
- Bloomfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Bloomfield is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
- Raven
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Raven is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven
- Logan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Brocton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Kidley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kidley is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kidley
- Ford County
- Paxton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Iroquois County
- Wellington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Benton County (IN)
- Ambia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ambia is located in Benton County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Fountain County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
- Covington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Layton
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Layton is located in Fountain County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Layton
- Harveysburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Harveysburg is located in Fountain County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveysburg
- Stone Bluff
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Stone Bluff is located in Fountain County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Bluff
- Veedersburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Kingman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Attica
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Parke County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
- West Union
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- West Union is located in Parke County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
- Montezuma
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Vermillion County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
- Rileysburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Rileysburg is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rileysburg
- Gessie
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Gessie is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gessie
- Perrysville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Tree Spring
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Tree Spring is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tree Spring
- Eugene
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Eugene is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eugene
- Cayuga
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cayuga is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,095 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cayuga <1>
- Dana
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dana is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 564 people
- Newport
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hillsdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hillsdale is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Saint Bernice
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Bernice is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Bernice
- Warren County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
- State Line City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- State Line City is located in Warren County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- State Line
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- State Line is located in Warren County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
- Foster
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Foster is located in Warren County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster
- Baltimore ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Baltimore is located in Warren County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
- Hedrick
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hedrick is located in Warren County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedrick
- Sloan ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sloan is located in Warren County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sloan
- Old Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Old Town is located in Warren County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
- Pence
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pence is located in Warren County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pence
- West Lebanon
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- West Lebanon is located in Warren County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lebanon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 686 people
- Williamsport
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Brisco ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Brisco is located in Warren County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brisco
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oakwood, see our County-by-County Page for Oakwood.
Cemeteries Near Oakwood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oakwood.
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 - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oakwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
- Oakwood Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Makemson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Dougherty Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hickman Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Pate Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Searl Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cox Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox Cemetery
- The Cox Cemetery has also been known as:
- Cox Family Cemetery
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Dalbey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalbey Cemetery
- The Dalbey Cemetery has also been known as:
- McFarland Cemetery
- Dougherty Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Vernon Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Oakhill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakhill Cemetery
- The Oakhill Cemetery has also been known as:
- Chester Cemetery
- Kistler Cemetery
- Continue List (309 more) ...
- Allhands Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Johnson Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson Hill Cemetery
- The Johnson Hill Cemetery has also been known as:
- Johnson / Oakwood Cemetery
- God's Acre Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for God's Acre Cemetery
- The God's Acre Cemetery has also been known as:
- Butler Burying Ground
- Butler Cemetery
- Butler Point Cemetery
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Oakwood had a population of 99 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Oakwood had a population of 1,460 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
- Missionfield
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Missionfield is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missionfield
- Glenburn
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Glenburn is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenburn
- Muncie
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Catlin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hillery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hillery is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillery
- Fairmount
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Fithian
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Vandercook
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Vandercook is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandercook
- Tilton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Snider
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Snider is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snider
- Westville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Danville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Grape Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Grape Creek is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grape Creek
- Higginsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Higginsville is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginsville
- Hope
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hope is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oakwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oakwood.
Newspapers Published in Oakwood ...
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 165 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oakwood.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oakwood, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oakwood.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Oakwood:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Vermilion County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Champaign County
- Douglas County
- Edgar County
- Ford County
- Iroquois County
- Benton County
- Fountain County
- Parke County
- Vermillion County
- Warren 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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Oakwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |