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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 Wauconda (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 Wauconda. 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 Wauconda ...

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.

Other variations include: Wakonda and Waukonda.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Wauconda. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Wauconda.

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 and doctors 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.

Wauconda is located in Lake 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 Lake County: Cook, McHenry, Allegan (MI), Berrien (MI), Van Buren (MI) & Kenosha (WI).

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

  • Lake County     (The home county of Wauconda)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wauconda, with the one closest to Wauconda listed first.
    • Tower Lakes
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Tower Lakes is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Lakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
    • Port Barrington
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Port Barrington is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,481 people
      • Port Barrington has also been known as:
      • Port Barrington village
    • Lake Barrington
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Lake Barrington is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,840 people
    • North Barrington
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • North Barrington is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,938 people
    • Fox River Valley Gardens
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hawthorn Woods
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Volo
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Fremont Center
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Gilmer
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Ivanhoe
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Fort Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Forest Lake
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Zurich
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Boone County
  • Cook County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wauconda, with the one closest to Wauconda listed first.
    • Barrington
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Barrington Hills
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Barrington Hills is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrington Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,152 people
    • Inverness
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Capri Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Capri Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capri Village
    • South Barrington
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • South Barrington is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,976 people
    • Palatine
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hoffman Estates
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Fairfax Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairfax Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax Village
    • Plum Grove Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Plum Grove Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Grove Village
    • Winthrop Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Winthrop Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winthrop Village
    • Arlington Heights
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Rolling Meadows
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Wheeling
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • DeKalb County
  • DuPage County
  • Kane County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wauconda, with the one closest to Wauconda listed first.
    • Carpentersville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • East Dundee
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Sleepy Hollow
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • West Dundee
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Freeman
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Gilberts
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Elgin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Pingree Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Coleman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • South Elgin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • South Elgin is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elgin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 24,646 people
    • Starks
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Hampshire
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • North Plato
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
  • McHenry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wauconda, with the one closest to Wauconda listed first.
    • Island Lake
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Island Lake is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,951 people
    • Holiday Hills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Holiday Hills is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 574 people
    • Fox River Grove
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Oakwood Hills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Oakwood Hills is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,011 people
    • Lakemoor
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Cary
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Cary is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,929 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cary <1>
    • Barreville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Prairie Grove
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Prairie Grove is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,920 people
    • Trout Valley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Trout Valley is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trout Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 508 people
    • Terra Cotta
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Johnsburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • McHenry
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake-in-the-Hills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Kenosha County (WI)
  • Racine County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wauconda, with the one closest to Wauconda listed first.
    • Bohners Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Bohners Lake is located in Racine County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bohners Lake
    • Burlington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Burlington is located in Racine County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,898 people
    • Union Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Union Grove is located in Racine County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,266 people
    • Browns Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Browns Lake is located in Racine County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Lake
    • Eagle Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Eagle Lake is located in Racine County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Lake
  • Walworth County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wauconda, with the one closest to Wauconda listed first.
    • Genoa City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Genoa City is located in Walworth County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genoa City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,981 people
    • Pell Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Pell Lake is located in Walworth County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pell Lake
    • Zenda
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake Geneva
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Big Foot Prairie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Voree ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Como
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Fontana-on-Geneva Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Fontana-on-Geneva Lake is located in Walworth County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontana-on-Geneva Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,743 people
    • Lake Como Beach ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake Como
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lyons
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Springfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Springfield is located in Walworth County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
    • Walworth
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Walworth is located in Walworth County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walworth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,827 people

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

Cemeteries Near Wauconda ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wauconda.

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

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

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

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Wauconda had a population of 368 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Wauconda had a population of 13,432 people.

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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Wauconda ...

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 84 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wauconda.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Wauconda. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Wauconda and those printed in the larger area surrounding Wauconda.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4> of Wauconda.

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 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 Wauconda:

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 Wauconda, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Wauconda) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.