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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 Tomahawk Bluff (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 Tomahawk Bluff. 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 Tomahawk Bluff ...

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 Tomahawk Bluff: Tomahawk Blf. (or less commonly used: Tomahawk Bluf.)

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Tomahawk Bluff 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 Tomahawk Bluff. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Tomahawk Bluff:

  • La Salle County     (The home county of Tomahawk Bluff)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tomahawk Bluff, with the one closest to Tomahawk Bluff listed first.
    • La Salle
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Peru
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Peru is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,612 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peru <1>
    • North Utica
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • North Utica is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Utica
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,333 people
    • Utica
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Troy Grove
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Waltham
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Waltham is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltham
    • Oglesby
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Deer Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Deer Park is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Park
    • Triumph
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Cedar Point
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Prairie Center
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Prairie Center is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Center
    • Vermilionville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Vermilionville is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermilionville
  • Bureau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tomahawk Bluff, with the one closest to Tomahawk Bluff listed first.
    • Dalzell
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Spring Valley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Cherry
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Ladd
      (7 miles [11.3 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>
    • Ottville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Ottville is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottville
    • Seatonville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Arlington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • De Pue
      (11 miles [17.7 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
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Hollowayville is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollowayville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
    • Zearing
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Zearing is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zearing
    • La Moille
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Malden
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • DeKalb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tomahawk Bluff, with the one closest to Tomahawk Bluff listed first.
    • Shabbona Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Shabbona Grove is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shabbona Grove
    • Somonauk
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Shabbona
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Franks
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Franks is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franks
    • Sandwich
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Grundy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tomahawk Bluff, with the one closest to Tomahawk Bluff listed first.
    • Nettle Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Nettle Creek is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettle Creek
    • Kinsman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Kendall County
    • Newark
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tomahawk Bluff, with the one closest to Tomahawk Bluff listed first.
    • Radley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Radley is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radley
    • Sublette
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Compton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Paw Paw
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • West Brooklyn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • The Burg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • The Burg is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Burg
    • East Paw Paw
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • East Paw Paw is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Paw Paw
    • Inlet
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Inlet is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inlet
    • Lee Center
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Amboy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Lee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Livingston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tomahawk Bluff, with the one closest to Tomahawk Bluff listed first.
    • Munster
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Munster is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munster
    • Coalville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Coalville is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
    • Vermilion City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Vermilion City is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermilion City
    • Ancona
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Missal
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Missal is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missal
    • Long Point
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Blackstone
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Budd
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Budd is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Budd
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tomahawk Bluff, with the one closest to Tomahawk Bluff listed first.
    • Wenona
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Evans ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Evans is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
    • Henry
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Henry is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,230 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henry <1>
    • Varna
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Toluca
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • La Rose
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Lacon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lacon is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,713 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacon <1>
    • Sparland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tomahawk Bluff, with the one closest to Tomahawk Bluff listed first.
    • Standard
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Granville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Mark
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Palatine
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Mount Palatine is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Palatine
    • Hennepin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • McNabb
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Magnolia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Putnam
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Tomahawk Bluff ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Tomahawk Bluff.

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 Tomahawk Bluff - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Tomahawk Bluff, with the one closest to Tomahawk Bluff 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.<3>

While we didn't find Tomahawk Bluff in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Tomahawk Bluff.

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

  • La Salle
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Peru
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Peru is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,612 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peru <1>
  • Dimmick
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Dimmick is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dimmick
  • Utica
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Oglesby
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Troy Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Spring Valley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Deer Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Deer Park is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Park
  • Ladd
    (7 miles [11.3 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>
  • Triumph
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Lowell
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lowell is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
  • Vermilionville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Vermilionville is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermilionville
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Prairie Center
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Prairie Center is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Center
    • Seatonville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Ticona
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Ticona is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ticona

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

Newspapers Published in Tomahawk Bluff ...

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 158 newspapers that have been published in the area around Tomahawk Bluff.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Tomahawk Bluff, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Tomahawk Bluff.

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 Tomahawk Bluff:

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