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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 Spires (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 Spires. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Spires is located in Woodford 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 Woodford County: La Salle, Livingston, Marshall, McLean, Peoria & Tazewell.

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

  • Woodford County     (The home county of Spires)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spires, with the one closest to Spires listed first.
    • Minonk
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Woodford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Woodford is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
    • Panola
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Panola is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
    • Benson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • El Paso
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Roanoke
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Secor
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Kappa
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Kappa is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kappa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
    • Washburn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Eureka
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Metamora
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Congerville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Grundy County
    • Kinsman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • La Salle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spires, with the one closest to Spires listed first.
    • Dana
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Dana is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dana <1>
    • Rutland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Leeds
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Leeds is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds
    • Streator
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Kangley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Kangley is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kangley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
    • Lostant
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Lostant is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lostant
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 477 people
      • Lostant has also been known as:
      • Lost Ant
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lostant <1>
    • Priscilla ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Priscilla is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Priscilla
    • Leonore
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Kernan
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Kernan is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kernan
    • Tonica
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Grand Ridge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Ransom
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Livingston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spires, with the one closest to Spires listed first.
    • Flanagan
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Graymont
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Long Point
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Ancona
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Cornell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Coalville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Coalville is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
    • Pontiac
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Pontiac is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pontiac
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,176 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pontiac <1>
    • Munster
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Munster is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munster
    • Vermilion City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Vermilion City is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermilion City
    • McDowell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • McDowell is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDowell
    • Missal
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Missal is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missal
    • Blackstone
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spires, with the one closest to Spires listed first.
    • Wenona
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Toluca
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Evans ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Evans is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
    • La Rose
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Varna
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Lacon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Henry
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Hopewell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Hopewell is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 394 people
    • Sparland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • McLean County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spires, with the one closest to Spires listed first.
    • Gridley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Meadows
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Meadows is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
    • Chenoa
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Hudson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Lexington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Weston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Weston is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
    • Towanda
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Carlock
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Yuton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Yuton is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuton
    • Merna
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Normal
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Cooksville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Peoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spires, with the one closest to Spires listed first.
    • Chillicothe
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Rome
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spires, with the one closest to Spires listed first.
    • Magnolia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • McNabb
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Palatine
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Palatine is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Palatine
    • Standard
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Granville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Mark
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Tazewell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spires, with the one closest to Spires listed first.
    • Deer Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Washington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cooper
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Cooper is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper
    • Lilly
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Lilly is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly
    • Beverly Manor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Beverly Manor is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly Manor
    • Crandall ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Crandall is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crandall
    • Mayfair
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Mayfair is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfair
    • Harvard Hills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Harvard Hills is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard Hills
    • Sunnyland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Trailpark Gardens
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Trailpark Gardens is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailpark Gardens

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

Cemeteries Near Spires ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Spires.

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

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

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

  • Bauman Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Baughman Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Petri Evangelical Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • St. Patrick Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Center Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Minonk Twp. Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Clayton Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Waldo Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • St. John Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (266 more) ...
    • St. Marys Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Rutland Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Harper Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 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.<3>

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

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

  • Minonk
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Flanagan
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Dana
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Dana is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dana <1>
  • Benson
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Rutland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Graymont
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Long Point
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • El Paso
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Gridley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Leeds
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Leeds is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds
  • Wenona
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Meadows
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Meadows is located in McLean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Ancona
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Toluca
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Roanoke
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Spires ...

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 112 newspapers that have been published in the area around Spires.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Spires, 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 Spires.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Spires:

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 Spires, 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' (or 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- Spires) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.