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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 Shaws (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 Shaws. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.

Shaws 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 Shaws. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Shaws:

  • Lee County     (The home county of Shaws)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaws, with the one closest to Shaws listed first.
    • Inlet
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Inlet is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inlet
    • Lee Center
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • West Brooklyn
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Sublette
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Amboy
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • The Burg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • The Burg is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Burg
    • Compton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Franklin Grove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Eldena
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Ashton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Nachusa
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Paw Paw
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Steward
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Bureau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaws, with the one closest to Shaws listed first.
    • La Moille
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Van Orin
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Ohio
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Arlington
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Greenoak
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Greenoak is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenoak
    • Zearing
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Zearing is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zearing
    • Kasbeer
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Limerick
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Limerick is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limerick
    • Cherry
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Malden
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Dover
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Walnut
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Ladd
      (22 miles [35.4 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>
  • Carroll County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaws, with the one closest to Shaws listed first.
    • Hazelhurst
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Hazelhurst is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelhurst
    • South Elkhorn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • South Elkhorn is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elkhorn
  • DeKalb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaws, with the one closest to Shaws listed first.
    • Shabbona Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Shabbona Grove is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shabbona Grove
    • Shabbona
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Waterman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Malta
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Elva
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Elva is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elva
    • Esmond
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Franks
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Franks is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franks
    • Somonauk
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Clare
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • De Kalb
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • La Salle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaws, with the one closest to Shaws listed first.
    • Mendota
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Earlville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Triumph
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Troy Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Prairie Center
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Prairie Center is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Center
    • Waltham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Waltham is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltham
    • Leland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Baker
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Baker is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
    • La Salle
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Peru
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • 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>
    • North Utica
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • North Utica is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Utica
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,333 people
    • Utica
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Oglesby
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Ogle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaws, with the one closest to Shaws listed first.
    • Flagg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Flagg is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagg
    • Carthage
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Carthage is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carthage
    • Flagg Center
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Flagg Center is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagg Center
    • Rochelle
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Chana
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Honey Creek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Honey Creek is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
    • Watertown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Watertown is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watertown
    • Hillcrest
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Hillcrest is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,216 people
    • Creston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Woosung
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Oregon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Holcomb
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Mount Morris
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaws, with the one closest to Shaws listed first.
    • Granville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Mark
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Whiteside County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaws, with the one closest to Shaws listed first.
    • Rock Falls
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Deer Grove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Sterling
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Penrose
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Penrose is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penrose
    • Galt
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Tampico
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Shaws ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shaws.

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

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

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

  • Inlet Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Peterson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Woodside Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Binghampton Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Union Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • St. Mary's Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Mormon Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Prairie Repose Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • St. Patrick Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • St. Patrick's Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Sandy Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (234 more) ...
    • Baird - Pumphrey Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Temperance Hill Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Bradford Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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.<3>

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

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

  • Lee Center
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Sublette
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • West Brooklyn
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Amboy
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Compton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Franklin Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Eldena
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Walton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Walton is located in Lee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walton
  • Ashton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Nachusa
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Van Orin
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • La Moille
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Mendota
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Paw Paw
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Flagg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Flagg is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagg

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

Newspapers Published in Shaws ...

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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shaws.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shaws, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Shaws.

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 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 Shaws:

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