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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 Sulphur Springs (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 Sulphur Springs. 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 Sulphur Springs ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Sulphur Springs: Sulphur Spgs. (or less commonly used: Sulphur Spngs. or Sulphur Sprngs.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sulphur Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sulphur Springs.

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 and doctors 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.

Sulphur Springs is located in La Salle 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 La Salle County: Bureau, DeKalb, Grundy, Kendall, Lee, Livingston, Marshall, Putnam & Woodford.

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

  • La Salle County     (The home county of Sulphur Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sulphur Springs, with the one closest to Sulphur Springs listed first.
    • Wedron
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Blakes
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Blakes is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blakes
    • Dayton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Dayton is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
    • Serena
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Ottawa
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Ottawa is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottawa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,097 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ottawa <1>
    • South Ottawa ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • South Ottawa is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ottawa
    • Stavanger
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Stavanger is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stavanger
    • Hitt
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Hitt is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hitt
    • Naplate
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Naplate is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naplate
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 465 people
    • Prairie Center
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Prairie Center is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Center
    • Baker
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Baker is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
    • Sheridan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Bureau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sulphur Springs, with the one closest to Sulphur Springs listed first.
    • Dalzell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Cherry
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Spring Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Ladd
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Ladd is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladd
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,184 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ladd <1>
    • Arlington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Ottville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Ottville is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottville
    • Seatonville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • De Pue
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • De Pue is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Pue
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,665 people
    • Hollowayville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Hollowayville is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollowayville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
    • La Moille
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Zearing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Zearing is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zearing
    • Malden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • DeKalb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sulphur Springs, with the one closest to Sulphur Springs listed first.
    • Somonauk
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Sandwich
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Franks
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Franks is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franks
    • Shabbona Grove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Shabbona Grove is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shabbona Grove
    • Shabbona
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Waterman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Hinckley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Elva
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Elva is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elva
  • Grundy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sulphur Springs, with the one closest to Sulphur Springs listed first.
    • Nettle Creek
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Nettle Creek is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettle Creek
    • Wauponsee
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Wauponsee is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wauponsee
    • Morris
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Kinsman
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Verona
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Claypool
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Claypool is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claypool
    • Gaslight Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Gaslight Village is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaslight Village
    • Highland Town ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Highland Town is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Town
    • Mazon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Sand Ridge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Sand Ridge is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Ridge
    • Carbon Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Carbon Hill is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon Hill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Minooka
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
  • Kane County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sulphur Springs, with the one closest to Sulphur Springs listed first.
    • Big Rock
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Sugar Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Kendall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sulphur Springs, with the one closest to Sulphur Springs listed first.
    • Newark
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lisbon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Lisbon is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
    • Millbrook
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Plattville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Plattville is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
    • Plano
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Little Rock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Little Rock is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock
    • Yorkville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Bristol
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Oswego
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Boulder Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Boulder Hill is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder Hill
    • Montgomery
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sulphur Springs, with the one closest to Sulphur Springs listed first.
    • Radley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Radley is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radley
    • East Paw Paw
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • East Paw Paw is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Paw Paw
    • Paw Paw
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Compton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • The Burg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • The Burg is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Burg
    • West Brooklyn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Sublette
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Livingston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sulphur Springs, with the one closest to Sulphur Springs listed first.
    • Missal
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Missal is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missal
    • Munster
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Munster is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munster
    • Vermilion City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Vermilion City is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermilion City
    • Blackstone
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Budd
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Budd is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Budd
    • Coalville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Coalville is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
    • Adams ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Adams is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
    • Sunbury
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Sunbury is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunbury
    • Ancona
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Dwight
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Dwight is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwight
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,984 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dwight <1>
    • Cornell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Long Point
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Marshall County
    • Wenona
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sulphur Springs, with the one closest to Sulphur Springs listed first.
    • Standard
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Granville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Palatine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Mount Palatine is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Palatine
    • Mark
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • McNabb
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Hennepin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Magnolia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Will County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sulphur Springs, with the one closest to Sulphur Springs listed first.
    • Shorewood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Blodgett
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Blodgett is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blodgett
    • Braidwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Summerfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Summerfield is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield
    • Godley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Godley is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Godley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 771 people

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

Cemeteries Near Sulphur Springs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sulphur Springs.

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 Sulphur Springs - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Debolt Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Trumbo Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Brumbach Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • West Serena Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Oakwood Memorial Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Columba Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Shaver Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • David Strawn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Olson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Nichols Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Old Brumbach Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Section Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (249 more) ...
    • Norway Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Nelson Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Calvary Catholic Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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 Sulphur Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sulphur Springs.

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

  • Wedron
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Dayton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Dayton is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
  • Blakes
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Blakes is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blakes
  • Danway
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Danway is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danway
  • Ottawa
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Ottawa is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottawa
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,097 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ottawa <1>
  • Serena
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • South Ottawa ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • South Ottawa is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ottawa
  • Norway
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Norway is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norway
  • Hitt
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Hitt is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hitt
  • Stavanger
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Stavanger is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stavanger
  • Prairie Center
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Prairie Center is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Center
  • Baker
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Baker is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Sheridan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Nettle Creek
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Nettle Creek is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettle Creek
    • Northville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Northville is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northville

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

Newspapers Published in Sulphur Springs ...

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 96 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sulphur Springs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sulphur Springs, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sulphur Springs.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Sulphur Springs:

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