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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 Walton (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 Walton. 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 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.

Walton is located in Lee 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 Lee County: Bureau, DeKalb, La Salle, Ogle & Whiteside.

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

  • Lee County     (The home county of Walton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Walton, with the one closest to Walton listed first.
    • Amboy
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Eldena
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Harmon
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Lee Center
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Nachusa
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Dixon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Inlet
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Inlet is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inlet
    • Nelson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Franklin Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Sublette
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Prairieville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Prairieville is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
    • Ashton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Bureau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Walton, with the one closest to Walton listed first.
    • Ohio
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Van Orin
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Walnut
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Kasbeer
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Limerick
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Limerick is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limerick
    • La Moille
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Greenoak
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Greenoak is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenoak
    • Dover
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Zearing
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Zearing is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zearing
    • Arlington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Malden
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • New Bedford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Carroll County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Walton, with the one closest to Walton listed first.
    • Hazelhurst
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Hazelhurst is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelhurst
    • South Elkhorn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • South Elkhorn is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elkhorn
    • Hitt
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Hitt is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hitt
    • Milledgeville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Elkhorn Grove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Elkhorn Grove is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn Grove
    • Fair Haven
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Fair Haven is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Haven
  • DeKalb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Walton, with the one closest to Walton listed first.
    • Shabbona
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Shabbona Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Shabbona Grove is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shabbona Grove
  • Henry County
    • Hooppole
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • La Salle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Walton, with the one closest to Walton listed first.
    • Mendota
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Troy Grove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Triumph
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Earlville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Waltham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Waltham is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltham
    • Peru
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
  • Ogle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Walton, with the one closest to Walton listed first.
    • Woosung
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Carthage
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Carthage is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carthage
    • Flagg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Flagg is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagg
    • Polo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Watertown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Watertown is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watertown
    • Honey Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Honey Creek is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
    • Buffalo Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Buffalo Grove is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Grove
    • Oregon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Chana
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Flagg Center
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Flagg Center is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagg Center
    • Mount Morris
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Rochelle
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Whiteside County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Walton, with the one closest to Walton listed first.
    • Rock Falls
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Deer Grove
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Sterling
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Penrose
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Penrose is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penrose
    • Galt
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Tampico
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Coleta
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Lyndon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Malvern
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Malvern is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malvern
    • Prophetstown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • White Pigeon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • White Pigeon is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Pigeon
    • Denrock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Denrock is located in Whiteside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denrock

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

Cemeteries Near Walton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Walton.

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

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

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

  • Williams Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Stevens Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • St. Patrick Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • St. Patrick's Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Mormon Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Prairie Repose Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Centenary Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • St. Patrick's Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Binghampton Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Emanuel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Temperance Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Dewolf Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (239 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 Walton had a population of 50 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Amboy
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Eldena
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Harmon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Lee Center
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Nachusa
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Dixon
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Nelson
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Ohio
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Sublette
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Franklin Grove
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Van Orin
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Grand Detour
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Prairieville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Prairieville is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
    • Walnut
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Rock Falls
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Walton ...

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 216 newspapers that have been published in the area around Walton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Walton, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Walton.

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 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 Walton:

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 Walton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Walton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.