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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 Stratford (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 Stratford. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Stratford is located in Ogle 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 Ogle County: Carroll, DeKalb, Lee, Stephenson, Whiteside & Winnebago.

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

  • Ogle County     (The home county of Stratford)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stratford, with the one closest to Stratford listed first.
    • Mount Morris
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Polo
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Maryland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Maryland is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryland
    • Buffalo Grove
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Buffalo Grove is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Grove
    • Haldane
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Haldane is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haldane
    • Woosung
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Oregon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Adeline
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Adeline is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adeline
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
    • Leaf River
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Honey Creek
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Honey Creek is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
    • Forreston
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Carthage
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Carthage is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carthage
    • Brookville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Brookville is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookville
  • Bureau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stratford, with the one closest to Stratford listed first.
    • Ohio
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Walnut
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Carroll County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stratford, with the one closest to Stratford listed first.
    • Hazelhurst
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Hazelhurst is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelhurst
    • South Elkhorn
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • South Elkhorn is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elkhorn
    • Elkhorn Grove
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Elkhorn Grove is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn Grove
    • Hitt
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Hitt is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hitt
    • Milledgeville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Shannon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lanark
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Georgetown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Georgetown is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
    • Zier Cors
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Zier Cors is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zier Cors
    • Chadwick
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Fair Haven
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Fair Haven is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Haven
    • Daggett ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Daggett is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daggett
    • Ideal
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Ideal is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ideal
  • DeKalb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stratford, with the one closest to Stratford listed first.
    • Esmond
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Fairdale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Fairdale is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stratford, with the one closest to Stratford listed first.
    • Dixon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Nachusa
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Prairieville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Prairieville is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
    • Franklin Grove
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Nelson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Eldena
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Ashton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Amboy
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Harmon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Lee Center
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Inlet
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Inlet is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inlet
    • Steward
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Sublette
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Stephenson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stratford, with the one closest to Stratford listed first.
    • German Valley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Florence
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Florence is located in Stephenson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
    • Ridott
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Bolton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Bolton is located in Stephenson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton
    • Freeport
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Pearl City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Cedarville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Dakota
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Eleroy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Loran
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Loran is located in Stephenson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loran
    • Red Oak
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Red Oak is located in Stephenson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oak
    • Rock City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Rock City is located in Stephenson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 279 people
    • Salem
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Salem is located in Stephenson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
  • Whiteside County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stratford, with the one closest to Stratford listed first.
    • Penrose
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Penrose is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penrose
    • Coleta
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Sterling
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Rock Falls
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Galt
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • White Pigeon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • White Pigeon is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Pigeon
    • Malvern
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Malvern is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malvern
    • Morrison
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Deer Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Spring Valley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Spring Valley is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
    • Lyndon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Tampico
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Union Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Union Grove is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
  • Winnebago County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stratford, with the one closest to Stratford listed first.
    • Seward
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Alworth
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Alworth is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alworth
    • Pecatonica
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Winnebago
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Indian Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Indian Village is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
    • New Millford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • New Millford is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Millford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 851 people
    • North Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • North Park is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Park
    • Rockford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Wempletown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Wempletown is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wempletown

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

Cemeteries Near Stratford ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Stratford.

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

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

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

  • Pine Creek Christian Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Brethren Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Cedar Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Plainview Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Fairmount Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • St. Mary's Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Buffalo Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • West Branch Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Mary's Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (255 more) ...
    • Reed Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Haldane Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • West Grove Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)

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 in 1895, Stratford had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Mount Morris
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Polo
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Maryland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Maryland is located in Ogle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryland
  • Woosung
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Haldane
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Haldane is located in Ogle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haldane
  • Grand Detour
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Daysville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Daysville is located in Ogle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daysville
  • Oregon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Adeline
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Adeline is located in Ogle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adeline
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
  • Leaf River
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Eagle Point
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Eagle Point is located in Ogle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point
  • Hazelhurst
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Hazelhurst is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelhurst
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Dixon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Honey Creek
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Honey Creek is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
    • Forreston
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Stratford ...

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 83 newspapers that have been published in the area around Stratford.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Stratford, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Stratford.

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 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 Stratford:

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 Stratford, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Stratford) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.