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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 Sheffield (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 Sheffield. 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 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.

Sheffield is located in Bureau 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 Bureau County: Henry, La Salle, Lee, Marshall, Putnam, Stark & Whiteside.

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

  • Bureau County     (The home county of Sheffield)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sheffield, with the one closest to Sheffield listed first.
    • Buda
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Neponset
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Mineral
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Wyanet
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Manlius
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • New Bedford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Tiskilwa
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Milo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Milo is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo
    • Princeton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Yorktown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Yorktown is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorktown
    • Walnut
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Limerick
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Limerick is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limerick
    • Kasbeer
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Henry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sheffield, with the one closest to Sheffield listed first.
    • Annawan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Kewanee
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Hooppole
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Atkinson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Galva
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Bishop Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Geneseo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Cambridge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Hickory Hills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Hickory Hills is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
    • Osco
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Andover
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Morristown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Morristown is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morristown
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sheffield, with the one closest to Sheffield listed first.
    • Altona
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Victoria
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Lee County
    • Harmon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sheffield, with the one closest to Sheffield listed first.
    • Camp Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Henry
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • Sparland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lacon
      (28 miles [45.1 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>
    • Hopewell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Hopewell is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 394 people
  • Peoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sheffield, with the one closest to Sheffield listed first.
    • Edelstein
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Princeville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Monica
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Monica is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monica
    • West Hallock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • West Hallock is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hallock
    • Elmore
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Elmore is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sheffield, with the one closest to Sheffield listed first.
    • Putnam
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hennepin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Mark
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Granville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Standard
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • McNabb
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Rock Island County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sheffield, with the one closest to Sheffield listed first.
    • Hillsdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Joslin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Joslin is located in Rock Island County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joslin
    • Rustic Acres
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Rustic Acres is located in Rock Island County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rustic Acres
  • Stark County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sheffield, with the one closest to Sheffield listed first.
    • Osceola
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Osceola is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
    • Bradford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Modena
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Modena is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modena
    • Castleton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Toulon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Wyoming
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • La Fayette
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Speer
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • West Jersey
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • West Jersey is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Jersey
  • Whiteside County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sheffield, with the one closest to Sheffield listed first.
    • Deer Grove
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Tampico
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Prophetstown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Lyndon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Denrock
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Denrock is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denrock
    • Pratt ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Pratt is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
    • Erie
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Erie is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,482 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erie <1>
    • Galt
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Rock Falls
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Sterling
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Fenton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Sheffield ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sheffield.

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

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

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

  • Sheffield Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • St. Patrick Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Hopeland Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Fifield Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Mineral Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Wood Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Floral Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Walnut Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Bunker Hills Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Gold Twp. Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Neponset Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Sand Hill Baptist Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (224 more) ...
    • Manlius Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Follett Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Sheffield had a population of 993 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Sheffield had a population of 855 people.

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

  • Buda
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Neponset
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Mineral
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Wyanet
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Manlius
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Providence
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Providence is located in Bureau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
  • Annawan
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Osceola
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Osceola is located in Stark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
  • New Bedford
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Thomas
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Thomas is located in Bureau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
  • Kewanee
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Tiskilwa
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Elmira
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Bradford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Milo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Milo is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Sheffield ...

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 216 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sheffield.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Sheffield. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Sheffield and those printed in the larger area surrounding Sheffield.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4> of Sheffield.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Sheffield:

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 Sheffield, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sheffield) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.