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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 Thomson (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 Thomson. 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 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.

Thomson is located in Carroll County.

To see how the shape of Illinois' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Carroll County: Clinton (IA), Jackson (IA), Jo Daviess, Ogle, Stephenson & Whiteside.

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

  • Carroll County     (The home county of Thomson)
  • Bureau County
  • Jo Daviess County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomson, with the one closest to Thomson listed first.
    • Pleasant Valley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Hanover
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hanover have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanover
      • Hanover is located in Jo Daviess County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 769 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hanover <3>
    • Elizabeth
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elizabeth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabeth
      • Elizabeth is located in Jo Daviess County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 722 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elizabeth <3>
    • Stockton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stockton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton
      • Stockton is located in Jo Daviess County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,709 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stockton <3>
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomson, with the one closest to Thomson listed first.
    • Prairieville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairieville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
      • Prairieville is located in Lee County
    • Nelson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nelson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
      • Nelson is located in Lee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nelson <3>
  • Ogle County
  • Rock Island County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomson, with the one closest to Thomson listed first.
    • Cordova
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cordova have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordova
      • Cordova is located in Rock Island County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 640 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cordova <3>
    • Hillsdale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillsdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
      • Hillsdale is located in Rock Island County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 502 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hillsdale <3>
    • Port Byron
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Joslin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Rapids City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rapids City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapids City
      • Rapids City is located in Rock Island County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 962 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rapids City <3>
  • Stephenson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomson, with the one closest to Thomson listed first.
    • Loran
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Pearl City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Kent
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kent have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
      • Kent is located in Stephenson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kent <3>
    • Yellow Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bolton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bolton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton
      • Bolton is located in Stephenson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bolton
      • From Thomson to Bolton
    • Florence
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Florence have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
      • Florence is located in Stephenson County
  • Whiteside County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomson, with the one closest to Thomson listed first.
    • Spring Valley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Fulton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fulton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
      • Fulton is located in Whiteside County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,285 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fulton <3>
    • East Clinton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Union Grove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • White Pigeon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Morrison
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morrison have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
      • Morrison is located in Whiteside County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,950 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morrison <3>
    • Malvern
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Malvern. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malvern
      • Malvern is located in Whiteside County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Malvern
      • From Thomson to Malvern
    • Albany
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Albany have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
      • Albany is located in Whiteside County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 856 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Albany <3>
    • Coleta
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coleta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleta
      • Coleta is located in Whiteside County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 151 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coleta <3>
    • Newton Corners
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Fenton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fenton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
      • Fenton is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fenton <3>
    • Lyndon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lyndon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyndon
      • Lyndon is located in Whiteside County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 604 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyndon <3>
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lyndon
      • From Thomson to Lyndon
  • Clinton County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomson, with the one closest to Thomson listed first.
    • Elk River Junction
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elk River Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk River Junction
      • Elk River Junction is located in Clinton County (IA)
    • Andover
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Teeds Grove
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Clinton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Sixmile
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Bryant
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bryant have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
      • Bryant is located in Clinton County (IA)
    • Tenmile
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Camanche
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Elvira
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Goose Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goose Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goose Lake
      • Goose Lake is located in Clinton County (IA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
    • Low Moor
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Charlotte
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Jackson County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomson, with the one closest to Thomson listed first.
    • Sabula
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sabula have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sabula
      • Sabula is located in Jackson County (IA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 545 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sabula <3>
    • Miles
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Miles have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miles
      • Miles is located in Jackson County (IA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 430 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Miles <3>
    • Van Buren
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Preston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Preston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
      • Preston is located in Jackson County (IA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 941 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Preston <3>
    • Green Island
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Island have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Island
      • Green Island is located in Jackson County (IA)
    • Spragueville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spragueville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spragueville
      • Spragueville is located in Jackson County (IA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 78 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spragueville <3>
    • Springbrook
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springbrook
      • Springbrook is located in Jackson County (IA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 140 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Springbrook <3>
    • Bellevue
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bellevue have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
      • Bellevue is located in Jackson County (IA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,185 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bellevue <3>
    • North Bellevue
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Andrew
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Smiths
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Smiths. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths
      • Smiths is located in Jackson County (IA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Smiths
      • From Thomson to Smiths
    • Maquoketa
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Scott County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomson, with the one closest to Thomson listed first.
    • McCausland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McCausland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCausland
      • McCausland is located in Scott County (IA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 311 people
    • Princeton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Le Claire
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Park View
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Long Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Thomson ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thomson.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Thomson had a population of 374 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Thomson had a population of 548 people.

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

  • Elk River Junction
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elk River Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk River Junction
    • Elk River Junction is located in Clinton County (IA)
  • Ideal
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Almont
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Almont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almont
    • Almont is located in Clinton County (IA)
  • Lyons
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyons have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
    • Lyons is located in Clinton County (IA)
  • Fulton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fulton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
    • Fulton is located in Whiteside County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,285 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fulton <3>
  • Ustick
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ustick have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ustick
    • Ustick is located in Whiteside County
  • Hickory Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Andover
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • East Clinton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Fair Haven
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Sabula
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sabula have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sabula
    • Sabula is located in Jackson County (IA)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 545 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sabula <3>
  • Daggett ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Daggett have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daggett
    • Daggett is located in Carroll County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Thomson ...

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 171 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thomson.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Thomson. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Thomson and those printed in the larger area surrounding Thomson.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<6> of Thomson.

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 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 Thomson:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Thomson. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Carroll County: visitcarrollcountyil.com/

The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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 Thomson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Thomson) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Thomson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.9589, Longitude: -90.0994    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025