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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 Saratoga Center (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 Saratoga Center. 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 Saratoga Center ...

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 Saratoga Center: Saratoga Ctr. (or less commonly used: Saratoga Cen., Saratoga Cent. or Saratoga Cntr.)

You might see Saratoga Centre instead of Saratoga Center.

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.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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 doctors 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.

Saratoga Center is located in Marshall 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 Marshall County: Bureau, La Salle, Peoria, Putnam, Stark & Woodford.

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

  • Marshall County     (The home county of Saratoga Center)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saratoga Center, with the one closest to Saratoga Center listed first.
    • Camp Grove
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Sparland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Hopewell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Hopewell is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 394 people
    • Lacon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Lacon is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,713 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacon <1>
    • Henry
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Henry is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,230 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henry <1>
    • Varna
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • La Rose
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Toluca
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Evans ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Evans is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
    • Wenona
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Bureau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saratoga Center, with the one closest to Saratoga Center listed first.
    • Milo
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Milo is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo
    • Tiskilwa
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Buda
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Bureau Junction
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Bureau Junction is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bureau Junction
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 297 people
      • Bureau Junction has also been known as:
      • Bureau
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bureau Junction <1>
    • Neponset
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Wyanet
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Sheffield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Princeton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • De Pue
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • De Pue is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Pue
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,665 people
    • Mineral
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Hollowayville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Hollowayville is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollowayville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
    • Ottville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Ottville is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottville
    • Dover
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Henry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saratoga Center, with the one closest to Saratoga Center listed first.
    • Kewanee
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Galva
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Annawan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Bishop Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Atkinson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saratoga Center, with the one closest to Saratoga Center listed first.
    • Williamsfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Victoria
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Dahinda
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Altona
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • La Salle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saratoga Center, with the one closest to Saratoga Center listed first.
    • Priscilla ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Priscilla is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Priscilla
    • Cedar Point
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lostant
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • 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 <1>
    • Tonica
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Peru
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Peru is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,612 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peru <1>
    • Rutland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Oglesby
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Peoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saratoga Center, with the one closest to Saratoga Center listed first.
    • Edelstein
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • West Hallock
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • West Hallock is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hallock
    • Chillicothe
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Princeville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Rome
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Monica
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Monica is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monica
    • Dunlap
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Mossville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Laura
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Elmore
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Elmore is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
    • Orange Prairie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Keller
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Keller is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keller
    • Brimfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saratoga Center, with the one closest to Saratoga Center listed first.
    • Putnam
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hennepin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Magnolia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • McNabb
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Mark
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Granville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Palatine
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Mount Palatine is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Palatine
    • Standard
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Stark County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saratoga Center, with the one closest to Saratoga Center listed first.
    • Bradford
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Castleton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Speer
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Modena
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Modena is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modena
    • Wyoming
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Osceola
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Osceola is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
    • Toulon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • West Jersey
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • West Jersey is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Jersey
    • La Fayette
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Tazewell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saratoga Center, with the one closest to Saratoga Center listed first.
    • Trailpark Gardens
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Trailpark Gardens is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailpark Gardens
    • Harvard Hills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Harvard Hills is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard Hills
    • Beverly Manor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Beverly Manor is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly Manor
    • Robein
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Robein is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robein
    • Sunnyland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Washington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • East Peoria
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • East Peoria is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Peoria
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,344 people
      • Former name for East Peoria:
      • Hilton
    • Highway Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Highway Village is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highway Village
  • Woodford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saratoga Center, with the one closest to Saratoga Center listed first.
    • Spring Bay
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Spring Bay is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Bay
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 456 people
    • Washburn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bay View Gardens
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Bay View Gardens is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View Gardens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 407 people
    • Germantown Hills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Metamora
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Roanoke
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Benson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Saratoga Center ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Saratoga Center.

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 Saratoga Center - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • St. Patrick Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Grant Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Mansfield Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Mound Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound Cemetery
    • The Mound Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Boyds Grove Cemetery
    • Boyds Grove Methodist Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #104840 <2>
  • Eagleston Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Milo Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • St. John Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Champion - Drawyer Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Hunter Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Bradford Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Sugar Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (286 more) ...
    • Lone Tree Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Hall Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Smith Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 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 Saratoga Center in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Saratoga Center.

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

  • Whitefield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Whitefield is located in Bureau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitefield
  • Milo
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Milo is located in Bureau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo
  • Bradford
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Castleton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Waldron ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Waldron is located in Stark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
  • Wyoming
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Lawn Ridge
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Lawn Ridge is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawn Ridge
  • Sparland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Modena
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Modena is located in Stark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modena
  • Providence
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Providence is located in Bureau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
  • Stark
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Stark is located in Stark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stark
  • Edelstein
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Lacon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Lacon is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,713 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacon <1>
    • Putnam
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Henry
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Henry is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,230 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henry <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Saratoga Center ...

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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Saratoga Center.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Saratoga Center, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Saratoga Center.

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 Saratoga Center:

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 Saratoga Center, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Saratoga Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.