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 Stanford (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 Stanford. 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.
Stanford is located in McLean 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 McLean County: Champaign, De Witt, Ford, Livingston, Logan, Piatt, Tazewell & Woodford.
Below are the counties that are near Stanford. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Stanford:
- McLean County (The home county of Stanford)
- The following are listed by their distance from Stanford, with the one closest to Stanford listed first.
- Danvers
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Danvers is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danvers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,093 people
- Danvers has also been known as:
- Danver
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danvers <1>
- Shirley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- McLean
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Yuton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Yuton is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuton
- Carlock
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bloomington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Normal
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Heyworth
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brokaw
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Brokaw is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brokaw
- Gillum
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Gillum is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillum
- Hudson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Downs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- De Witt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stanford, with the one closest to Stanford listed first.
- Waynesville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Tabor
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Tabor is located in De Witt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
- Hallsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Hallsville is located in De Witt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallsville
- Midland City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Midland City is located in De Witt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland City
- Wapella
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kenney
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Clinton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Birkbeck
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Birkbeck is located in De Witt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birkbeck
- Rowell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rowell is located in De Witt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowell
- De Witt
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- De Witt is located in De Witt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Witt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
- Lane
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fullerton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fullerton is located in De Witt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fullerton
- Logan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stanford, with the one closest to Stanford listed first.
- Atlanta
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Lawndale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Emden
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Evans
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Evans is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
- Hartsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bell
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Bell is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
- Beason
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Lincoln
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Chestervale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Chestervale is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestervale
- New Holland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Chestnut
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Broadwell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Broadwell is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadwell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Macon County
- Maroa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mason County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stanford, with the one closest to Stanford listed first.
- San Jose
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Natrona
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Natrona is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natrona
- Mason City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Manito
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Peoria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stanford, with the one closest to Stanford listed first.
- Peoria
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bartonville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- North Peoria
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- North Peoria is located in Peoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Peoria
- Peoria Heights
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- West Peoria
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mapleton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Bellevue
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bellevue is located in Peoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,037 people
- Keller
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Keller is located in Peoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keller
- Maxwell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Maxwell is located in Peoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Pottstown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pottstown is located in Peoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottstown
- Kingston Mines
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Tazewell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stanford, with the one closest to Stanford listed first.
- Minier
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Tazewell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Tazewell is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tazewell
- Lilly
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lilly is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly
- Fravert ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Fravert is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fravert
- Mindale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mindale is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mindale
- Armington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Sutter ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Sutter is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutter
- Walnut
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Walnut is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Mackinaw
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mackinaw is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackinaw
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,861 people
- Former name for Mackinaw:
- Mackinawtown
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mackinaw <1>
- Richmond
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Richmond is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
- Burt
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Burt is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burt
- Hopedale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Woodford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Stanford, with the one closest to Stanford listed first.
- Congerville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Goodfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Eureka
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Kappa
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Kappa is located in Woodford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kappa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
- Secor
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- El Paso
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Roanoke
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Metamora
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Panola
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Panola is located in Woodford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
- Germantown Hills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Benson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Bay View Gardens
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bay View Gardens is located in Woodford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View Gardens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 407 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Stanford, see our County-by-County Page for Stanford.
Cemeteries Near Stanford ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Stanford.
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 Stanford - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Stanford covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Stanford, with the one closest to Stanford listed first.
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Brooks Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Broadway Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Camp Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Minier Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minier Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Minier Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Minier.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1969485 <2>
- Hieronymous Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mitchell Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Funks Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- West Twin Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood Cemetery
- The Greenwood Cemetery has also been known as:
- Glenwood Cemetery
- Old Minier Cemetery
- Longsworth Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Lilly Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (299 more) ...
- Lindsey Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bergen Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bergen Cemetery
- The Bergen Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
- Tazewell Hill Cemetery
- Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
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 Stanford had a population of 359 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Stanford had a population of 599 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Stanford, with the one closest to Stanford listed first.
- Minier
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Covell
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Covell is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covell
- Danvers
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Danvers is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danvers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,093 people
- Danvers has also been known as:
- Danver
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danvers <1>
- Funks Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Funks Grove is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Funks Grove
- Lilly
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lilly is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly
- Armington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- McLean
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Shirley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Twin Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Twin Grove is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Grove
- Mountjoy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Mountjoy is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountjoy
- Yuton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Yuton is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuton
- Hopedale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Atlanta
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Carlock
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Boynton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Boynton is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boynton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Stanford. See our List of 1890's Communities around Stanford.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Stanford ...
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 124 newspapers that have been published in the area around Stanford.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Stanford. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Stanford and those printed in the larger area surrounding Stanford.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4> of Stanford.
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 Stanford:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to McLean County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- De Witt County
- Logan County
- Macon County
- Mason County
- Peoria County
- Tazewell County
- Woodford County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Illinois
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 Stanford, 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- Stanford) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |