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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 Portland (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 Portland. 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.

Portland is located in Whiteside 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 Whiteside County: Clinton (IA), Bureau, Carroll, Henry, Lee, Ogle & Rock Island.

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

  • Whiteside County     (The home county of Portland)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
    • Prophetstown
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Denrock
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Denrock is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denrock
    • Pratt ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Pratt is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
    • Lyndon
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Fenton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Erie
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Erie is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,482 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erie <1>
    • Newton Corners
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Newton Corners is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Corners
    • Tampico
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Morrison
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Union Grove
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Union Grove is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
    • Galt
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Albany
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Bureau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
    • Yorktown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Yorktown is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorktown
    • New Bedford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Mineral
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Walnut
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Manlius
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Sheffield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Ohio
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Neponset
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Buda
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Kasbeer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Limerick
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Limerick is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limerick
    • Wyanet
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Carroll County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
    • Fair Haven
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Fair Haven is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Haven
    • Ideal
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Ideal is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ideal
    • Thomson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Argo Fay
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Argo Fay is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo Fay
    • Milledgeville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Chadwick
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Daggett ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Daggett is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daggett
    • Hazelhurst
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Hazelhurst is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelhurst
    • South Elkhorn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • South Elkhorn is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elkhorn
    • Hitt
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Hitt is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hitt
    • Hickory Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Hickory Grove is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
    • Elkhorn Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Elkhorn Grove is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn Grove
  • Henry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
    • Hooppole
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Atkinson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Geneseo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Annawan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Hickory Hills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Hickory Hills is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
    • Cleveland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Cleveland is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
    • Dayton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Dayton is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
    • Briar Bluff
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Briar Bluff is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briar Bluff
    • Colona
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Green Rock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Green Rock is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Rock
    • Morristown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Morristown is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morristown
    • Osco
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
    • Nelson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Harmon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Prairieville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Prairieville is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
    • Dixon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Eldena
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Ogle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
    • Woosung
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Buffalo Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Buffalo Grove is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Grove
    • Brookville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Brookville is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookville
    • Polo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Rock Island County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
    • Hillsdale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Joslin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Joslin is located in Rock Island County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joslin
    • Cordova
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Rustic Acres
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Rustic Acres is located in Rock Island County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rustic Acres
    • Port Byron
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Rapids City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Barstow
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hampton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Hampton is located in Rock Island County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,738 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hampton <1>
    • Carbon Cliff
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Silvis
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Silvis is located in Rock Island County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silvis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,473 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Silvis <1>
    • East Moline
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • East Moline is located in Rock Island County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Moline
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,473 people
    • Coal Valley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Clinton County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
    • Camanche
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Camanche is located in Clinton County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camanche
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,368 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Camanche <1>
    • Clinton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Clinton is located in Clinton County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,039 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clinton <1>
    • Shaffton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Shaffton is located in Clinton County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaffton
    • Folletts
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Folletts is located in Clinton County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folletts
    • Low Moor
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Elvira
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Elvira is located in Clinton County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elvira
    • Sixmile
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Sixmile is located in Clinton County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixmile
    • Elk River Junction
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Elk River Junction is located in Clinton County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk River Junction
    • Andover
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Andover is located in Clinton County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
    • Tenmile
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Tenmile is located in Clinton County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
    • Bryant
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Bryant is located in Clinton County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
    • Teeds Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Teeds Grove is located in Clinton County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teeds Grove
  • Jackson County (IA)
    • Sabula
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Sabula is located in Jackson County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sabula
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 545 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sabula <1>
  • Scott County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
    • Princeton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Le Claire
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant Valley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • McCausland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • McCausland is located in Scott County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCausland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 311 people
    • Panorama Park
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Panorama Park is located in Scott County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panorama Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 331 people
    • Riverdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Riverdale is located in Scott County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 398 people
    • Bettendorf
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Park View
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Park View is located in Scott County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park View

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

Cemeteries Near Portland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Portland.

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

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

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

  • Shady Town Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Washington Road Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Lyndon Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Sharon Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Leon Methodist Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Fenton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Erie Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Loraine Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Kemmis Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Bowman Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Smack Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (247 more) ...
    • Fairfield Yorktown Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Kingsbury Presbyterian Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Hooppole Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)

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

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

  • Pratt ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Pratt is located in Whiteside County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
  • Prophetstown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Denrock
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Denrock is located in Whiteside County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denrock
  • Spring Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Spring Hill is located in Whiteside County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
  • Lyndon
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Fenton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Erie
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Erie is located in Whiteside County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,482 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erie <1>
  • Sands
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Sands is located in Whiteside County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sands
  • Yorktown
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Yorktown is located in Bureau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorktown
  • Hillsdale
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Hooppole
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Tampico
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Round Grove
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Round Grove is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Grove
    • Morrison
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Union Grove
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Union Grove is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove

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

Newspapers Published in Portland ...

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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Portland.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Portland, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Portland.

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 helpful 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 Portland:

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 Portland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Portland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.