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 Prairie View (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 Prairie View. 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 Prairie View ...
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 Prairie View: Prairie Vw.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Prairie View. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Prairie View.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.
Prairie View is located in Boone 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 Boone County: DeKalb, McHenry, Ogle, Winnebago, Rock (WI) & Walworth (WI).
Below are the counties that are near Prairie View. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Prairie View:
- Boone County (The home county of Prairie View)
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie View, with the one closest to Prairie View listed first.
- Belvidere
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Irene
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Irene is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irene
- Timberlane
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Timberlane is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlane
- Population from the 2020 Census: 934 people
- Caledonia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Russellville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Russellville is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Garden Prairie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Poplar Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Herbert
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Herbert is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herbert
- Capron
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie View, with the one closest to Prairie View listed first.
- Fairdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Fairdale is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
- Kirkland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Kingston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Esmond
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Genoa
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Clare
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Brush Point ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brush Point is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Point
- Charter Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Charter Grove is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charter Grove
- New Lebanon
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- New Lebanon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lebanon
- Coltonville ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Coltonville is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coltonville
- Malta
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Sycamore
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sycamore is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,317 people
- Kane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie View, with the one closest to Prairie View listed first.
- Burlington
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hampshire
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Starks
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Starks is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starks
- North Plato
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- North Plato is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Plato
- Pingree Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Freeman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Freeman is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Virgil
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Maple Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Plato Center
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Gilberts
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Bowes Bend
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bowes Bend is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowes Bend
- Lily Lake
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lily Lake is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lily Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,019 people
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie View, with the one closest to Prairie View listed first.
- Steward
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Ashton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- McHenry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie View, with the one closest to Prairie View listed first.
- Marengo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Union
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Harvard
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Woodstock
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Big Foot Prairie
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Big Foot Prairie is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Foot Prairie
- Huntley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Alden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lakewood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Ridgefield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Ridgefield is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgefield
- Bull Valley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Bull Valley is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,078 people
- Greenwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Greenwood is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Hebron
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ogle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie View, with the one closest to Prairie View listed first.
- Monroe Center
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Davis Junction
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lindenwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Holcomb
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Stillman Valley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Byron
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Creston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Hillcrest
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hillcrest is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,216 people
- Rochelle
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Flagg Center
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Flagg Center is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagg Center
- Chana
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Egan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Egan is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egan
- Stephenson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie View, with the one closest to Prairie View listed first.
- Davis
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- German Valley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Ridott
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Winnebago County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie View, with the one closest to Prairie View listed first.
- Cherry Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Loves Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- North Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- North Park is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Park
- Argyle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Argyle is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
- Machesney Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- New Millford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- New Millford is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Millford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 851 people
- Rockford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Indian Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Indian Village is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Sturbridge Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sturbridge Village is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturbridge Village
- Roscoe
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rockton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wempletown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wempletown is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wempletown
- Rock County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie View, with the one closest to Prairie View listed first.
- Beloit
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Beloit is located in Rock County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beloit
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36,637 people
- Clinton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Clinton is located in Rock County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,119 people
- Garden Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Garden Village is located in Rock County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Village
- Shopiere
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Shopiere is located in Rock County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shopiere
- Tiffany
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Tiffany is located in Rock County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiffany
- Avalon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Avalon is located in Rock County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avalon
- Newark
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Newark is located in Rock County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
- Emerald Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Emerald Grove is located in Rock County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Grove
- Janesville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Janesville is located in Rock County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64,664 people
- Avon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Avon is located in Rock County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
- Hanover
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hanover is located in Rock County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanover
- Walworth County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie View, with the one closest to Prairie View listed first.
- Sharon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Sharon is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,546 people
- Big Foot Prairie
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Big Foot Prairie is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Foot Prairie
- Allens Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Allens Grove is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Grove
- Walworth
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Walworth is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,827 people
- Darien
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Darien is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darien
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,591 people
- Fontana-on-Geneva Lake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fontana-on-Geneva Lake is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontana-on-Geneva Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,743 people
- Delavan Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Delavan Lake is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan Lake
- Zenda
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Zenda is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenda
- Delavan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Delavan is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,240 people
- Williams Bay
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Williams Bay is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Bay
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,657 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Prairie View, see our County-by-County Page for Prairie View.
Cemeteries Near Prairie View ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Prairie View.
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 Prairie View - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Prairie View covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Prairie View, with the one closest to Prairie View listed first.
- St. James Catholic Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Davis Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Belvidere Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Highland Garden of Memories
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Arlington Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Carman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Flora Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Bloods Point Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Orth Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Guilford Union Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Lawrenceville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Andrus Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (237 more) ...
- Ewins Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Drake Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Guilford Turner Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
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 Prairie View in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Prairie View.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Prairie View, with the one closest to Prairie View listed first.
- Cherry Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Belvidere
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Perryville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Perryville is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perryville
- Irene
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Irene is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irene
- Reeds Crossing ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Reeds Crossing is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Crossing
- Argyle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Argyle is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
- Caledonia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Harlem
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Harlem is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem
- Greendale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Greendale is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greendale
- New Millford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- New Millford is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Millford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 851 people
- Colvin Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Colvin Park is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvin Park
- Herbert
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Herbert is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herbert
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Garden Prairie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Poplar Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ruby
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ruby is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Prairie View. See our List of 1890's Communities around Prairie View.
Newspapers Published in Prairie View ...
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 113 newspapers that have been published in the area around Prairie View.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Prairie View, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Prairie View.
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 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 Prairie View:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Boone County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- DeKalb County
- Kane County
- Lee County
- McHenry County
- Ogle County
- Stephenson County
- Winnebago County
- Rock County
- Walworth 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> | 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 Prairie View, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Prairie View) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |