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 Rooks Creek (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 Rooks Creek. 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 Rooks Creek ...
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.
- A typical abbreviation for Rooks Creek: Rooks Crk. (or less commonly used: Rooks Ck. or Rooks Cr.)
- While the name of this community is Rooks Creek, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Rooks Creek may originally have been Rook's Creek.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Rooks Creek might be written as Rook Creek.
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 northeast 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 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 east 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.
Rooks Creek 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 Rooks Creek. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rooks Creek:
- Livingston County (The home county of Rooks Creek)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rooks Creek, with the one closest to Rooks Creek listed first.
- Pontiac
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Graymont
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- McDowell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- McDowell is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDowell
- Cornell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Cayuga
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cayuga is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga
- Flanagan
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Swygert
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Swygert is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swygert
- Avoca ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Avoca is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Odell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Eylar
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Eylar is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eylar
- Long Point
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Fairbury
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rooks Creek, with the one closest to Rooks Creek listed first.
- Kempton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Sibley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cabery
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Piper City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Garber
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Garber is located in Ford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garber
- Grundy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rooks Creek, with the one closest to Rooks Creek listed first.
- Kinsman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Highland Town ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Highland Town is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Town
- Verona
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mazon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wauponsee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Wauponsee is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wauponsee
- Gardner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- South Wilmington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- South Wilmington is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wilmington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 637 people
- Clarke City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Clarke City is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarke City
- East Brooklyn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- East Brooklyn is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Brooklyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
- Kankakee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rooks Creek, with the one closest to Rooks Creek listed first.
- Reddick
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Buckingham
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- La Salle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rooks Creek, with the one closest to Rooks Creek listed first.
- Dana
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Leeds
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Leeds is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds
- Kernan
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Kernan is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kernan
- Streator
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Ransom
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Rutland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Kangley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Kangley is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kangley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
- Grand Ridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Leonore
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lostant
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lostant is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lostant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 477 people
- Lostant has also been known as:
- Lost Ant
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lostant <2>
- Marseilles
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Priscilla ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Priscilla is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Priscilla
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rooks Creek, with the one closest to Rooks Creek listed first.
- Wenona
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Evans ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Evans is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
- Toluca
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- La Rose
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Varna
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- McLean County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rooks Creek, with the one closest to Rooks Creek listed first.
- Chenoa
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Weston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Weston is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
- Meadows
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Meadows is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
- Gridley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lexington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Colfax
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Cropsey
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Anchor
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Cooksville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Hudson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Towanda
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Merna
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Putnam County
- Magnolia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Woodford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rooks Creek, with the one closest to Rooks Creek listed first.
- Minonk
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Woodford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Woodford is located in Woodford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
- Panola
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Panola is located in Woodford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
- El Paso
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Kappa
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Kappa is located in Woodford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kappa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
- Benson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Secor
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Roanoke
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rooks Creek, see our County-by-County Page for Rooks Creek.
Cemeteries Near Rooks Creek ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rooks Creek.
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 Rooks Creek - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rooks Creek covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rooks Creek, with the one closest to Rooks Creek listed first.
- Rook's Creek Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- McMillan Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Rowe Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Walden Farm Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Pontiac City Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pontiac City Cemetery
- The Pontiac City Cemetery has also been known as:
- Pontiac Southside Cemetery
- South Side Cemetery
- Southside Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #288460 <3>
- Corbins Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Johnson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Zooks Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Cornell Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Pike Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bayou Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (202 more) ...
- Houder Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Earp Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
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, Rooks Creek had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rooks Creek, with the one closest to Rooks Creek listed first.
- Pontiac
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Rowe
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rowe is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe
- Graymont
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Ocoya
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Ocoya is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocoya
- McDowell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- McDowell is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDowell
- Cornell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Cayuga
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cayuga is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga
- Lodemia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Lodemia is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodemia
- Flanagan
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Chenoa
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Swygert
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Swygert is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swygert
- Meadows
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Meadows is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Weston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Weston is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
- Rugby
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Rugby is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
- Manville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Manville is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rooks Creek. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rooks Creek.
Newspapers Published in Rooks Creek ...
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 206 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rooks Creek.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rooks Creek, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rooks Creek.
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 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 Rooks Creek:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Livingston County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Ford County
- Grundy County
- Kankakee County
- La Salle County
- Marshall County
- McLean County
- Putnam County
- Woodford County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Illinois
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Rooks Creek, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Rooks Creek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |