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 Waddams Grove (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 Waddams Grove. 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 Waddams Grove ...
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.
- A typical abbreviation for Waddams Grove: Waddams Grv.
- While the name of this community is Waddams Grove, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Waddams Grove may originally have been Waddam's Grove.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Waddams Grove might be written as Waddam Grove.
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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.
Waddams Grove is located in Stephenson 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 Stephenson County: Carroll, Jo Daviess, Ogle, Winnebago, Green (WI) & Lafayette (WI).
Below are the counties that are near Waddams Grove. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Waddams Grove:
- Stephenson County (The home county of Waddams Grove)
- The following are listed by their distance from Waddams Grove, with the one closest to Waddams Grove listed first.
- Lena
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lena is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,680 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lena <2>
- McConnell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Winslow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Kent
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Yellow Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Yellow Creek is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Creek
- Salem
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Salem is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Eleroy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Buena Vista
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Buena Vista is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Red Oak
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Red Oak is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oak
- Pearl City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Orangeville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Oneco
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Oneco is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oneco
- Loran
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Loran is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loran
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Waddams Grove, with the one closest to Waddams Grove listed first.
- Polsgrove
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Polsgrove is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polsgrove
- Zier Cors
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Zier Cors is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zier Cors
- Georgetown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Georgetown is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Shannon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lanark
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Mount Carroll
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Blackhawk
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Blackhawk is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhawk
- Marcus
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Marcus is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Center Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Center Hill is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Hill
- Arnold
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Arnold is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Daggett ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Daggett is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daggett
- Hickory Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Hickory Grove is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
- Savanna
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jo Daviess County
- The following are listed by their distance from Waddams Grove, with the one closest to Waddams Grove listed first.
- Nora
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Warren
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Stockton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Apple River
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Valley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Valley is located in Jo Daviess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
- Elizabeth
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Scales Mound
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Hanover
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Aiken
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Aiken is located in Jo Daviess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aiken
- Bremen
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Bremen is located in Jo Daviess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bremen
- Galena
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Galena Junction
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Galena Junction is located in Jo Daviess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena Junction
- Ogle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Waddams Grove, with the one closest to Waddams Grove listed first.
- Baileyville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Harper
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Harper is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Forreston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Adeline
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Adeline is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adeline
- Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
- Brookville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Brookville is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookville
- Egan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Egan is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egan
- Haldane
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Haldane is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haldane
- Maryland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Maryland is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryland
- Winnebago County
- The following are listed by their distance from Waddams Grove, with the one closest to Waddams Grove listed first.
- Lake Summerset
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Lake Summerset is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Summerset
- Pecatonica
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Durand
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Seward
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jackson County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Waddams Grove, with the one closest to Waddams Grove listed first.
- Green Island
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Green Island is located in Jackson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Island
- Sabula
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Smiths
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Smiths is located in Jackson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths
- Bellevue
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- North Bellevue
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- North Bellevue is located in Jackson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bellevue
- Grant County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Waddams Grove, with the one closest to Waddams Grove listed first.
- Hazel Green
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Hazel Green is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Green
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
- Cuba City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cuba City is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,047 people
- Green County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Waddams Grove, with the one closest to Waddams Grove listed first.
- Cadiz
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cadiz is located in Green County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cadiz
- Browntown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Browntown is located in Green County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browntown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Monroe
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Monroe is located in Green County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,426 people
- Twin Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Twin Grove is located in Green County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Grove
- Monticello
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Monticello is located in Green County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,185 people
- Brodhead
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Brodhead is located in Green County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brodhead
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,204 people
- Mineral Point
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mineral Point is located in Green County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Point
- Albany
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Albany is located in Green County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
- Population from the 2020 Census: 977 people
- New Glarus
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- New Glarus is located in Green County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Glarus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,136 people
- Iowa County (WI)
- Moscow
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Moscow is located in Iowa County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Lafayette County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Waddams Grove, with the one closest to Waddams Grove listed first.
- South Wayne
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- South Wayne is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wayne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
- Gratiot
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Gratiot is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gratiot
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Wiota
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Wiota is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiota
- Woodford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Woodford is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
- Argyle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Argyle is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 809 people
- Fort Gratiot ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Gratiot is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Gratiot
- Former name for Fort Gratiot:
- Gratiot Grove
- Shullsburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Shullsburg is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shullsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,192 people
- Darlington
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Darlington is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,317 people
- White Oak
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- White Oak is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
- Etna
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Etna is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- New Diggings
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- New Diggings is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Diggings
- Calamine
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Calamine is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calamine
- Benton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Benton is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
- Rock County (WI)
- Avon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Avon is located in Rock County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Waddams Grove, see our County-by-County Page for Waddams Grove.
Cemeteries Near Waddams Grove ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Waddams Grove.
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 Waddams Grove - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Waddams Grove covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Waddams Grove, with the one closest to Waddams Grove listed first.
- Waddams Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Howardsille Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Holly Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Holley Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Louisa Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Crossroads Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lena Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lena Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Nora Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- East Chelsea Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Christian Hollow Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (264 more) ...
- Oakwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- West Chelsea Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Kent Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent Lutheran Cemetery
- The Kent Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- Kent Cemetery
- Kent United Baptist Cemetery
- Old Liberal Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #106432 <4>
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 in 1895, Waddams Grove had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Waddams Grove, with the one closest to Waddams Grove listed first.
- Lena
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lena is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,680 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lena <2>
- Nora
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Stockton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kent
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Yellow Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Yellow Creek is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Creek
- McConnell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Martintown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Martintown is located in Green County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martintown
- Warren
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Eleroy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Damascus
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Damascus is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
- Red Oak
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Red Oak is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oak
- Buena Vista
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Buena Vista is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- South Wayne
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- South Wayne is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wayne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
- Browntown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Browntown is located in Green County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browntown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Loran
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Loran is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loran
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Waddams Grove. See our List of 1890's Communities around Waddams Grove.
Newspapers Published in Waddams Grove ...
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 87 newspapers that have been published in the area around Waddams Grove.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Waddams Grove, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Waddams Grove.
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 Waddams Grove:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Stephenson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carroll County
- Jo Daviess County
- Ogle County
- Winnebago County
- Jackson County
- Grant County
- Green County
- Iowa County
- Lafayette County
- Rock County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Illinois
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Waddams Grove) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Waddams Grove, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |