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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 South Elgin (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 South Elgin. 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 South Elgin ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for South Elgin: S. Elgin

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.

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 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.

South Elgin is located in Kane 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 Kane County: Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Kendall, McHenry & Will.

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

  • Kane County     (The home county of South Elgin)
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Elgin, with the one closest to South Elgin listed first.
    • Coleman
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Coleman is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
    • Elgin
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint Charles
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Bonnie
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Bonnie is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnie
      • Bonnie has also been known as:
      • Bonnie Valley
    • Campton Hills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Campton Hills is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campton Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,063 people
      • Campton Hills has also been known as:
      • Campton Hills village
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Campton Hills <1>
    • Wasco
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bowes Bend
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Bowes Bend is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowes Bend
    • Sleepy Hollow
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Plato Center
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • East Dundee
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Geneva
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Gilberts
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Elgin, with the one closest to South Elgin listed first.
    • Herbert
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Herbert is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herbert
    • Garden Prairie
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Cook County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Elgin, with the one closest to South Elgin listed first.
    • Streamwood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Hanover Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Hoffman Estates
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • South Barrington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • South Barrington is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,976 people
    • Barrington Hills
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Barrington Hills is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrington Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,152 people
    • Schaumburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Inverness
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Barrington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Rolling Meadows
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Fairfax Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairfax Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax Village
    • Plum Grove Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Plum Grove Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Grove Village
    • Winthrop Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Winthrop Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winthrop Village
  • DeKalb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Elgin, with the one closest to South Elgin listed first.
    • New Lebanon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • New Lebanon is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lebanon
    • Charter Grove
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Charter Grove is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charter Grove
    • Cortland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Sycamore
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Sycamore is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,317 people
    • Genoa
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Coltonville ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Coltonville is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coltonville
    • Hinckley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Brush Point ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Brush Point is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Point
    • De Kalb
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Kingston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Elva
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Elva is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elva
    • Clare
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • DuPage County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Elgin, with the one closest to South Elgin listed first.
    • Wayne
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bartlett
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Ingalton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Ingalton is located in DuPage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingalton
    • West Chicago
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • West Chicago is located in DuPage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chicago
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,593 people
    • Cloverdale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Cloverdale is located in DuPage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
    • Keeneyville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Keeneyville is located in DuPage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeneyville
    • Carol Stream
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Roselle
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Winfield
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bloomingdale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Medinah
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Glendale Heights
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Kendall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Elgin, with the one closest to South Elgin listed first.
    • Montgomery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Boulder Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Boulder Hill is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder Hill
    • Bristol
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Oswego
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Yorkville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Little Rock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Little Rock is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock
    • Plano
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Elgin, with the one closest to South Elgin listed first.
    • Deer Park
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Barrington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Lake Barrington is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,840 people
    • North Barrington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • North Barrington is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,938 people
    • Fox River Valley Gardens
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Port Barrington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Port Barrington is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,481 people
      • Port Barrington has also been known as:
      • Port Barrington village
    • Lake Zurich
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Tower Lakes
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Tower Lakes is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Lakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
    • Forest Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Forest Lake is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Lake
    • Kildeer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Wauconda
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Buffalo Grove
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Gilmer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Gilmer is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmer
  • McHenry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Elgin, with the one closest to South Elgin listed first.
    • Algonquin
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Lake-in-the-Hills
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Huntley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Fox River Grove
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Trout Valley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Trout Valley is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trout Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 508 people
    • Cary
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Cary is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,929 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cary <1>
    • Crystal Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Lakewood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Oakwood Hills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Oakwood Hills is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,011 people
    • Barreville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Barreville is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barreville
    • Prairie Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Prairie Grove is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,920 people
    • Ridgefield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Ridgefield is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgefield
  • Will County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Elgin, with the one closest to South Elgin listed first.
    • Winston Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Winston Village is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winston Village
    • Normantown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Normantown is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normantown
    • Bolingbrook
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Colonial Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Colonial Village is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
    • Bloomfield Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Bloomfield Village is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield Village
    • Plainfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Walker
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Walker is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
    • Romeoville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Crystal Lawns
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Crystal Lawns is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lawns
    • Summerfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Summerfield is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield
    • Lockport
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near South Elgin ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of South Elgin.

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 South Elgin - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Prairie Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Little Woods Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Elgin State Hospital Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Bluff City Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Bluff City Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Elgin.
    • The Bluff City Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Bluff City Boulevard Cemetery
    • Elgin City Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2163487 <2>
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • North Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Union Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Round Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Apostolic Christian Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Udina Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Udina Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Udina Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<3> to the west of Elgin.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1981683 <2>
  • Whitney Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (390 more) ...
    • South Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Lake Street Memorial Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Westside Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that South Elgin had a population of 505 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, South Elgin had a population of 24,646 people.

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

  • Coleman
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Coleman is located in Kane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
  • Youngsdale
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Youngsdale is located in Kane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngsdale
  • Clintonville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Clintonville is located in Kane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clintonville
  • Elgin
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Almora
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Almora is located in Kane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almora
  • Saint Charles
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Wayne
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Spaulding
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Spaulding is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spaulding
  • Udina
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Udina is located in Kane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Udina
  • Wasco
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Bartlett
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • McQueen
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • McQueen is located in Kane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McQueen
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Plato Center
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Geneva
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Lily Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Lily Lake is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lily Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,019 people

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

Newspapers Published in South Elgin ...

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 211 newspapers that have been published in the area around South Elgin.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of South Elgin, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for South Elgin.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 South Elgin:

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>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- South Elgin) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 South Elgin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.