RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Illinois >> Livingston County >> Risk >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Risk (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 Risk. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.

Risk is located in Livingston 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 Livingston County: Ford, Grundy, Kankakee, La Salle, McLean & Woodford.

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

  • Livingston County     (The home county of Risk)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Risk, with the one closest to Risk listed first.
    • Strawn
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Forrest
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Fairbury
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Chatsworth
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Wing
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Wing is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wing
    • Charlotte
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Charlotte is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlotte
    • Avoca ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Avoca is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
    • McDowell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • McDowell is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDowell
    • Saunemin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Cullom
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Eylar
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Eylar is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eylar
    • Griswold
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Griswold is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griswold
    • Swygert
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Swygert is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swygert
  • Champaign County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Risk, with the one closest to Risk listed first.
    • Foosland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Fisher
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Fisher is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,911 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fisher <1>
    • Lotus
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Lotus is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lotus
    • Ludlow
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Dewey
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Prospect
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Prospect is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect
    • Rantoul
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • De Witt County
    • Watkins
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Watkins is located in De Witt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watkins
  • Ford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Risk, with the one closest to Risk listed first.
    • Sibley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Garber
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Garber is located in Ford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garber
    • Melvin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Roberts
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Piper City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Gibson City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Gibson City is located in Ford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,275 people
      • Gibson City has also been known as:
      • Gibson
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gibson City <1>
    • Elliott
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Proctor
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Proctor is located in Ford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor
    • Kempton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Paxton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cabery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Iroquois County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Risk, with the one closest to Risk listed first.
    • Thawville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • La Hogue
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • La Hogue is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Hogue
    • Ridgeville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Ridgeville is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
    • Buckley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Del Rey
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Del Rey is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Del Rey
    • Loda
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Loda is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loda <1>
    • Onarga
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Gilman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Danforth
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Cissna Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Ashkum
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Crescent City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Woodworth
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Woodworth is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodworth
  • Kankakee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Risk, with the one closest to Risk listed first.
    • Buckingham
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Reddick
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Herscher
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • McLean County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Risk, with the one closest to Risk listed first.
    • Cropsey
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Anchor
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Weston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Weston is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
    • Colfax
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Saybrook
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Chenoa
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Cooksville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Arrowsmith
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Lexington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Meadows
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Meadows is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
    • Ellsworth
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bellflower
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Glen Avon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Glen Avon is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Avon
  • Vermilion County
    • Rankin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Risk ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Risk.

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

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

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

  • Strawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • South Apostolic Christian Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Five Mile Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Forrest Twp. Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Cropsey Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Germanville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Spence Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • St. Patrick's Catholic Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • St. John's Catholic Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • East Graceland Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Graceland Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the East Graceland Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the southeast of Fairbury.
    • The East Graceland Cemetery has also been known as:
    • German Apostolic Christian Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2201400 <2>
  • Graceland Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (166 more) ...
    • Fairview Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Cooper Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • North Apostolic Christian Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)

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 in 1895, Risk had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Strawn
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Cropsey
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Sibley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Fairbury
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Chatsworth
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Anchor
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Garber
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Garber is located in Ford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garber
  • Melvin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Guthrie
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Guthrie is located in Ford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guthrie
  • Charlotte
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Charlotte is located in Livingston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlotte
  • Roberts
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Piper City
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • Lodemia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Lodemia is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodemia
    • Weston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Weston is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
    • Colfax
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Risk ...

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 191 newspapers that have been published in the area around Risk.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Risk, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Risk.

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 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 Risk:

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- Risk) 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 Risk, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.