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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 Thawville (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 Thawville. 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 and hospitals 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.

Thawville is located in Iroquois 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 Iroquois County: Ford, Kankakee, Vermilion, Benton (IN) & Newton (IN).

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

  • Iroquois County     (The home county of Thawville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thawville, with the one closest to Thawville listed first.
    • Ridgeville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Ridgeville is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
    • Del Rey
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Del Rey is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Del Rey
    • La Hogue
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • La Hogue is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Hogue
    • Onarga
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Buckley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Gilman
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Loda
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Loda is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loda <1>
    • Danforth
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cissna Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Woodworth
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Woodworth is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodworth
    • Crescent City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Ashkum
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Champaign County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thawville, with the one closest to Thawville listed first.
    • Ludlow
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Gifford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Prospect
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Prospect is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect
    • Rantoul
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Dewey
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Penfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Fisher
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Fisher is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,911 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fisher <1>
    • Foosland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Thomasboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Flatville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Flatville is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatville
    • Lotus
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Lotus is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lotus
  • Ford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thawville, with the one closest to Thawville listed first.
    • Roberts
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Piper City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Melvin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Paxton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Sibley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Elliott
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Garber
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Garber is located in Ford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garber
    • Kempton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Gibson City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Gibson City is located in Ford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,275 people
      • Gibson City has also been known as:
      • Gibson
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gibson City <1>
    • Cabery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Proctor
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Proctor is located in Ford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor
  • Kankakee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thawville, with the one closest to Thawville listed first.
    • Buckingham
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Herscher
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Irwin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Irwin is located in Kankakee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
    • Otto
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Otto is located in Kankakee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otto
    • Sammons Point
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Sammons Point is located in Kankakee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sammons Point
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 237 people
      • Sammons Point has also been known as:
      • Sammons Point village
    • Goodrich
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Goodrich is located in Kankakee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodrich
    • Reddick
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Union Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Livingston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thawville, with the one closest to Thawville listed first.
    • Chatsworth
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Charlotte
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Charlotte is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlotte
    • Strawn
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Cullom
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Forrest
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Wing
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Wing is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wing
    • Griswold
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Griswold is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griswold
    • Saunemin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Fairbury
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Avoca ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Avoca is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
    • Emington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Eylar
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Eylar is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eylar
  • McLean County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thawville, with the one closest to Thawville listed first.
    • Cropsey
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Anchor
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Saybrook
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Colfax
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Weston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Weston is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
  • Vermilion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thawville, with the one closest to Thawville listed first.
    • Rankin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • East Lynn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hoopeston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Armstrong
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Potomac
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Rossville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Thawville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thawville.

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

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

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

  • Thawville Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Lisk Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Del Rey Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Onarga Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onarga Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Onarga Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Onarga.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1926812 <2>
  • St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Brewton Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Melvin Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Gilman Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilman Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Gilman Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Gilman.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1027535 <2>
  • St. Mary's Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Mary's Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Mary's Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Gilman.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1032338 <2>
  • Germanville Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Pine Ridge Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Wenger Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (152 more) ...

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 Thawville had a population of 250 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Thawville had a population of 241 people.

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

  • Ridgeville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Ridgeville is located in Iroquois County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
  • Roberts
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Del Rey
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Del Rey is located in Iroquois County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Del Rey
  • Buckley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Onarga
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • La Hogue
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • La Hogue is located in Iroquois County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Hogue
  • Piper City
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Gilman
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Melvin
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Chatsworth
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Loda
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Loda is located in Iroquois County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loda
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loda <1>
  • Danforth
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Cissna Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Charlotte
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Charlotte is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlotte
    • Paxton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Thawville ...

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 91 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thawville.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Thawville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Thawville and those printed in the larger area surrounding Thawville.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Thawville.

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 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 Thawville:

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