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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Slackwater. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Slackwater to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Slackwater, please Contact Us.

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 Slackwater (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 Slackwater. 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 and hospitals 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Slackwater is historic, it would have been located within present day Stark 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 Stark County: Bureau, Henry, Knox, Marshall & Peoria.

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

  • Stark County     (The home county of Slackwater)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Slackwater, with the one closest to Slackwater listed first.
    • Wyoming
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • West Jersey
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • West Jersey is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Jersey
    • Toulon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Speer
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Modena
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Modena is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modena
    • Castleton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • La Fayette
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Bradford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Osceola
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Osceola is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
  • Bureau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Slackwater, with the one closest to Slackwater listed first.
    • Milo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Milo is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo
    • Neponset
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Buda
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Sheffield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Tiskilwa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Mineral
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Wyanet
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Slackwater, with the one closest to Slackwater listed first.
    • Farmington
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Norris
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Brereton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Brereton is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brereton
    • Breeds
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Breeds is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breeds
    • London Mills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairview
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Henry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Slackwater, with the one closest to Slackwater listed first.
    • Galva
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Kewanee
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Bishop Hill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Annawan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Cambridge
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Woodhull
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Slackwater, with the one closest to Slackwater listed first.
    • Williamsfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Victoria
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Dahinda
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Yates City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Appleton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Appleton is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
    • Altona
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Gilson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Oneida
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Maquon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Knox
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Knox is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knox
    • Wataga
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Knoxville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • East Galesburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • East Galesburg is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Galesburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 761 people
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Slackwater, with the one closest to Slackwater listed first.
    • Camp Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hopewell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Hopewell is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 394 people
    • Sparland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Lacon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • 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 <2>
    • Henry
      (25 miles [40.2 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 <2>
    • La Rose
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Peoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Slackwater, with the one closest to Slackwater listed first.
    • Monica
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Monica is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monica
    • Princeville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Laura
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Elmore
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Elmore is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
    • Edelstein
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Brimfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • West Hallock
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • West Hallock is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hallock
    • Dunlap
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Edwards
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Orange Prairie
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Elmwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Chillicothe
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Mossville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Putnam County
  • Tazewell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Slackwater, with the one closest to Slackwater listed first.
    • Trailpark Gardens
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Trailpark Gardens is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailpark Gardens
    • Harvard Hills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Harvard Hills is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard Hills
    • East Peoria
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Wesley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Wesley is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley
    • Creve Coeur
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Creve Coeur is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creve Coeur
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,109 people
      • Former name for Creve Coeur:
      • Wesley City
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Creve Coeur <2>
    • Highway Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Highway Village is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highway Village
    • Robein
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Robein is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robein
    • Sunnyland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Beverly Manor
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Beverly Manor is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly Manor
    • Farmdale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Farmdale is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmdale
    • Marquette Heights
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Marquette Heights is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marquette Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,617 people
    • North Pekin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • North Pekin is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Pekin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,530 people
      • Former name for North Pekin:
      • Radio City
    • Caldwell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Caldwell is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caldwell
  • Woodford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Slackwater, with the one closest to Slackwater listed first.
    • Bay View Gardens
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Bay View Gardens is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View Gardens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 407 people
    • Spring Bay
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Spring Bay is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Bay
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 456 people
    • Germantown Hills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Metamora
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Washburn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Slackwater ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Slackwater.

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

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

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

  • Stringtown Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Walliker Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Sheets Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Schiebel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Starwano Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Campbell Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Princeville Twp. Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • County Farm Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Apostolic Christian Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Streitmatter Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Wyoming Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (299 more) ...

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.

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

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

  • Duncan
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Duncan is located in Stark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
  • Monica
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Monica is located in Peoria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monica
  • Princeville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Stark
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Stark is located in Stark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stark
  • Laura
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Wyoming
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • West Jersey
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • West Jersey is located in Stark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Jersey
  • Toulon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Elmore
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Elmore is located in Peoria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
  • Williamsfield
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Brimfield
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Akron
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Akron is located in Peoria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akron
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • West Hallock
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • West Hallock is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hallock
    • Edelstein
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Lawn Ridge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Lawn Ridge is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawn Ridge

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

Newspapers Published in Slackwater ...

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 185 newspapers that have been published in the area around Slackwater.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Slackwater, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Slackwater.

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 Slackwater:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Slackwater, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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>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- Slackwater) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.