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 Preston Heights (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 Preston Heights. 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 Preston Heights ...
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 Preston Heights: Preston Hts. (in Canada, 'Hgts.' is the more common abbreviation.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Preston Heights. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Preston Heights.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.
Preston Heights 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 Preston Heights. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Preston Heights:
- Will County (The home county of Preston Heights)
- The following are listed by their distance from Preston Heights, with the one closest to Preston Heights listed first.
- Joliet
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Ingalls Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ingalls Park is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingalls Park
- Rockdale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rockdale is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,884 people
- East Joliet
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- East Joliet is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Joliet
- Crest Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Fairmont
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Fairmont is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont
- Cherry Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cherry Hill is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Hill
- Brisbane
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Brisbane is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brisbane
- New Lenox
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Crystal Lawns
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Crystal Lawns is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lawns
- Elwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Manhattan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cook County
- The following are listed by their distance from Preston Heights, with the one closest to Preston Heights listed first.
- Lemont
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Orland Hills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Orland Park
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Tinley Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Palos Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Matteson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Oak Forest
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Country Club Hills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Richton Park
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Burr Ridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Palos Heights
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Palos Hills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- DeKalb County
- Sandwich
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- DuPage County
- The following are listed by their distance from Preston Heights, with the one closest to Preston Heights listed first.
- Tedens ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Tedens is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tedens
- Woodridge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Darien
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Naperville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Willowbrook
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Lisle
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Westmont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Eola
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Clarendon Hills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Downers Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Hinsdale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Warrenville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Grundy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Preston Heights, with the one closest to Preston Heights listed first.
- Channahon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Minooka
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Sand Ridge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Sand Ridge is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Ridge
- Diamond
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Carbon Hill
(17 miles [27.4 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
- Coal City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Claypool
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Claypool is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claypool
- Centerville ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Centerville is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Gaslight Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Gaslight Village is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaslight Village
- Morris
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Braceville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Central City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Central City is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
- Kane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Preston Heights, with the one closest to Preston Heights listed first.
- Aurora
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- North Aurora
(25 miles [40.2 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
- Mooseheart
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sugar Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Batavia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Geneva
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Big Rock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Kankakee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Preston Heights, with the one closest to Preston Heights listed first.
- Manteno
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Essex
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Bonfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bourbonnais
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bradley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Goodrich
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Goodrich is located in Kankakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodrich
- Limestone
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Limestone is located in Kankakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,498 people
- Union Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Saint George
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Saint George is located in Kankakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint George
- Reddick
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Grant Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Grant Park is located in Kankakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,231 people
- Kankakee
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kendall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Preston Heights, with the one closest to Preston Heights listed first.
- Plattville
(15 miles [24.1 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
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Boulder Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Boulder Hill is located in Kendall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder Hill
- Lisbon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Lisbon is located in Kendall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
- Montgomery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bristol
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Yorkville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Plano
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Millbrook
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Newark
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Little Rock
(29 miles [46.7 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 Preston Heights, with the one closest to Preston Heights listed first.
- Millington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Stavanger
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Stavanger is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stavanger
- Seneca
(30 miles [48.3 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>
- Lake County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Preston Heights, with the one closest to Preston Heights listed first.
- Dyer
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Dyer is located in Lake County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dyer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,955 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dyer <1>
- Hammond
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Munster
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Preston Heights, see our County-by-County Page for Preston Heights.
Cemeteries Near Preston Heights ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Preston Heights.
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 Preston Heights - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Preston Heights covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Preston Heights, with the one closest to Preston Heights listed first.
- Zarley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- 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
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Elmhurst Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- 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>
- St. Peters Lutheran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- St. Peter Lutheran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Oakwood Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Joliet.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #261051 <2>
- Mt. Moriah Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- St. John the Baptist Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- 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
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- North Providence Ridge Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Providence Ridge Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the North Providence Ridge Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 5 miles [8 km]<3> to the southeast of Joliet.
- The North Providence Ridge Cemetery has also been known as:
- North Ridge Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1035879 <2>
- Mound Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mound Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Joliet.
- The Mound Cemetery has also been known as:
- Rudd Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2339538 <2>
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Olivet Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Olivet Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Joliet.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #107054 <2>
- Continue List (368 more) ...
- County Farm Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Brown Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Brown Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the northeast of Elwood.
- The Brown Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Brown Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1365441 <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 Preston Heights in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Preston Heights.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Preston Heights, with the one closest to Preston Heights listed first.
- Joliet
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- East Joliet
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- East Joliet is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Joliet
- Millsdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Millsdale is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millsdale
- Elwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Manhattan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brisbane
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Brisbane is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brisbane
- Steele
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Steele is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steele
- New Lenox
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Coynes
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Coynes is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coynes
- Drummond
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Drummond is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drummond
- Spencer
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Spencer is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer
- Lockport
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Marley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Marley is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marley
- Blodgett
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Blodgett is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blodgett
- Caton Farm
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Caton Farm is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caton Farm
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Preston Heights. See our List of 1890's Communities around Preston Heights.
Newspapers Published in Preston Heights ...
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 92 newspapers that have been published in the area around Preston Heights.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Preston Heights, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Preston Heights.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Preston Heights:
- 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
- Lake 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 '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- Preston Heights) 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 Preston Heights, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |