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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 Urbana (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 Urbana. 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 Urbana ...

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 have occurred.

Another variation: Urbana City.

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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

Urbana is located in Champaign County and is the County Seat.

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 Champaign County: Douglas, Edgar, Ford, McLean, Piatt & Vermilion.

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

  • Champaign County     (The home county of Urbana)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Urbana, with the one closest to Urbana listed first.
    • Champaign
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Mira
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Savoy
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Mayview
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Staley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Philo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Philo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philo
      • Philo is located in Champaign County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,378 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Philo <1>
    • Saint Joseph
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Bondville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Thomasboro
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomasboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomasboro
      • Thomasboro is located in Champaign County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,066 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thomasboro <1>
    • Tolono
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Rutherford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Sidney
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sidney have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
      • Sidney is located in Champaign County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,172 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sidney <1>
    • Lake of the Woods
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake of the Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake of the Woods
      • Lake of the Woods is located in Champaign County
  • De Witt County
  • Douglas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Urbana, with the one closest to Urbana listed first.
    • Fairland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairland
      • Fairland is located in Douglas County
    • Hayes
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Villa Grove
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Chicken Bristle
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Camargo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Tuscola
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tuscola have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuscola
      • Tuscola is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,370 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tuscola <1>
    • Murdock
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Murdock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murdock
      • Murdock is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Murdock <1>
    • Patterson Springs
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Ficklin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ficklin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ficklin
      • Ficklin is located in Douglas County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ficklin
      • From Urbana to Ficklin
    • Newman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Garrett
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garrett have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrett
      • Garrett is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
    • Kemp
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Arcola
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Edgar County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Urbana, with the one closest to Urbana listed first.
    • Palermo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Palermo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palermo
      • Palermo is located in Edgar County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Palermo
      • From Urbana to Palermo
    • Hume
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hume have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hume
      • Hume is located in Edgar County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hume <1>
    • Metcalf
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Metcalf have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metcalf
      • Metcalf is located in Edgar County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Metcalf <1>
    • Brocton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Ford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Urbana, with the one closest to Urbana listed first.
    • Proctor
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Proctor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor
      • Proctor is located in Ford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Proctor
      • From Urbana to Proctor
    • Elliott
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Paxton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paxton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
      • Paxton is located in Ford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,117 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Paxton <1>
    • Gibson City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Garber
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Garber. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garber
      • Garber is located in Ford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Garber
      • From Urbana to Garber
  • Iroquois County
    • Loda
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loda have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loda
      • Loda is located in Iroquois County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loda <1>
  • McLean County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Urbana, with the one closest to Urbana listed first.
    • Bellflower
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bellflower have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellflower
      • Bellflower is located in McLean County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bellflower <1>
    • Kumler
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kumler. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kumler
      • Kumler is located in McLean County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kumler
      • From Urbana to Kumler
    • Laurette
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Laurette. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurette
      • Laurette is located in McLean County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Laurette
      • From Urbana to Laurette
    • Glen Avon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Saybrook
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saybrook have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saybrook
      • Saybrook is located in McLean County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 679 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saybrook <1>
  • Piatt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Urbana, with the one closest to Urbana listed first.
    • White Heath
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Heath have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Heath
      • White Heath is located in Piatt County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for White Heath <1>
    • Mansfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mansfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansfield
      • Mansfield is located in Piatt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 939 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mansfield <1>
    • Monticello
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monticello have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
      • Monticello is located in Piatt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,557 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Monticello <1>
    • Bement
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bement have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bement
      • Bement is located in Piatt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,661 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bement <1>
    • De Land
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Atwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Voorhies
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Voorhies. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Voorhies
      • Voorhies is located in Piatt County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Voorhies
      • From Urbana to Voorhies
    • Milmine
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milmine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milmine
      • Milmine is located in Piatt County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milmine <1>
    • Cisco
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cisco have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisco
      • Cisco is located in Piatt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 242 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cisco <1>
    • Hammond
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Vermilion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Urbana, with the one closest to Urbana listed first.
    • Fithian
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fithian have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fithian
      • Fithian is located in Vermilion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fithian <1>
    • Muncie
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Muncie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muncie
      • Muncie is located in Vermilion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Muncie <1>
    • Allerton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Allerton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allerton
      • Allerton is located in Vermilion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 263 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Allerton <1>
    • Fairmount
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairmount have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
      • Fairmount is located in Vermilion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 587 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fairmount <1>
    • Armstrong
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Collison
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Oakwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
      • Oakwood is located in Vermilion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,460 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakwood <1>
    • Belgium Row
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Glenburn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Missionfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Newtown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Archie
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Sidell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sidell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidell
      • Sidell is located in Vermilion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 557 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sidell <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Urbana ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Urbana.

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 Urbana covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Urbana, with the one closest to Urbana 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>

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

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

  • Champaign
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Mira
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Savoy
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Deers
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deers have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deers
    • Deers is located in Champaign County
  • Mayview
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Leverett
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leverett have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leverett
    • Leverett is located in Champaign County
  • Staley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Philo
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Philo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philo
    • Philo is located in Champaign County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,378 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Philo <1>
  • Sellers
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sellers have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers
    • Sellers is located in Champaign County
  • Rising
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rising have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising
    • Rising is located in Champaign County
  • Saint Joseph
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Bondville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Tolono
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Sidney
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sidney have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
      • Sidney is located in Champaign County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,172 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sidney <1>
    • Thomasboro
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomasboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomasboro
      • Thomasboro is located in Champaign County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,066 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thomasboro <1>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Urbana ...

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 226 newspapers that have been published in the area around Urbana.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 Urbana:

The official website for Urbana: www.city.urbana.il.us/

The official website for Champaign County: www.co.champaign.il.us/

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

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 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>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.
<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 Urbana, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Urbana) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Urbana. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.1108, Longitude: -88.2050    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025