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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 Scarboro (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 Scarboro. 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 hospitals and 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.

Scarboro is located in Lee 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 Lee County: Bureau, DeKalb, La Salle, Ogle & Whiteside.

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

  • Lee County     (The home county of Scarboro)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scarboro, with the one closest to Scarboro listed first.
    • Lee
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Steward
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Paw Paw
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • The Burg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • The Burg is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Burg
    • Compton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • East Paw Paw
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • East Paw Paw is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Paw Paw
    • West Brooklyn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Ashton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Radley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Radley is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radley
    • Inlet
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Inlet is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inlet
    • Lee Center
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Sublette
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scarboro, with the one closest to Scarboro listed first.
    • Irene
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Irene is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irene
    • Herbert
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Herbert is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herbert
  • Bureau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scarboro, with the one closest to Scarboro listed first.
    • La Moille
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Van Orin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Arlington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Cherry
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Ohio
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Zearing
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Zearing is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zearing
    • Greenoak
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Greenoak is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenoak
    • Ladd
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Ladd is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladd
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,184 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ladd <1>
    • Kasbeer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Limerick
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Limerick is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limerick
    • Dalzell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Dover
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • DeKalb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scarboro, with the one closest to Scarboro listed first.
    • Shabbona
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Shabbona Grove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Shabbona Grove is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shabbona Grove
    • Waterman
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Malta
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Elva
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Elva is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elva
    • De Kalb
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Franks
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Franks is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franks
    • Esmond
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Clare
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Hinckley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Coltonville ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Coltonville is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coltonville
    • Cortland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Kane County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scarboro, with the one closest to Scarboro listed first.
    • Maple Park
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Big Rock
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Kaneville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Virgil
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Elburn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Sugar Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Kendall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scarboro, with the one closest to Scarboro listed first.
    • Little Rock
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Little Rock is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock
    • Plano
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Plano is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,879 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plano <1>
    • Millbrook
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Newark
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • La Salle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scarboro, with the one closest to Scarboro listed first.
    • Earlville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Mendota
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Leland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Triumph
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Baker
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Baker is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
    • Troy Grove
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Prairie Center
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Prairie Center is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Center
    • Waltham
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Waltham is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltham
    • Serena
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Sheridan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Blakes
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Blakes is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blakes
    • Millington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Ogle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scarboro, with the one closest to Scarboro listed first.
    • Flagg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Flagg is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagg
    • Creston
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Rochelle
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Flagg Center
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Flagg Center is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagg Center
    • Hillcrest
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Hillcrest is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,216 people
    • Chana
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Carthage
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Carthage is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carthage
    • Lindenwood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Holcomb
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Honey Creek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Honey Creek is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
    • Watertown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Watertown is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watertown
    • Monroe Center
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Winnebago County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scarboro, with the one closest to Scarboro listed first.
    • New Millford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • New Millford is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Millford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 851 people
    • North Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • North Park is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Park

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

Cemeteries Near Scarboro ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Scarboro.

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

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

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

  • Twin Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • German Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Fisk Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Ellsworth Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Lee Calvary Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Steward Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Brooklyn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • English Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Harding Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Union Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Reynolds Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (235 more) ...
    • Wyoming Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Rose Hill Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • St. Mary's Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)

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.<2>

While we didn't find Scarboro in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Scarboro.

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

  • Lee
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Steward
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Compton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Paw Paw
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • West Brooklyn
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Shabbona
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Shabbona Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Shabbona Grove is located in DeKalb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shabbona Grove
  • Flagg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Flagg is located in Ogle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagg
  • Rochelle
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Rollo
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Rollo is located in DeKalb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollo
  • Creston
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Radley
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Radley is located in Lee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radley
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Flagg Center
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Flagg Center is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagg Center
    • Ashton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lee Center
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Scarboro ...

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 95 newspapers that have been published in the area around Scarboro.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Scarboro, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Scarboro.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Scarboro:

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>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 Scarboro, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 from Point A (ie- Scarboro) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.