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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 Westmoreland (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 Westmoreland. 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 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.

Westmoreland is located in Winnebago 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 Winnebago County: Boone, DeKalb, Ogle, Stephenson, Green (WI) & Rock (WI).

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

  • Winnebago County     (The home county of Westmoreland)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westmoreland, with the one closest to Westmoreland listed first.
    • Rockford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Indian Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Indian Village is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
    • Alworth
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Alworth is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alworth
    • Winnebago
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Wempletown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Wempletown is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wempletown
    • Sturbridge Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Sturbridge Village is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturbridge Village
    • Machesney Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • New Millford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • New Millford is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Millford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 851 people
    • North Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • North Park is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Park
    • Loves Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Pecatonica
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Seward
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westmoreland, with the one closest to Westmoreland listed first.
    • Timberlane
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Timberlane is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlane
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 934 people
    • Caledonia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Irene
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Irene is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irene
    • Belvidere
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Poplar Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Russellville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Russellville is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
    • Herbert
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Herbert is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herbert
    • Garden Prairie
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Capron
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
  • Carroll County
    • Shannon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • DeKalb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westmoreland, with the one closest to Westmoreland listed first.
    • Fairdale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairdale is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
    • Esmond
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Kirkland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Kingston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Clare
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Genoa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Brush Point ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Brush Point is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Point
    • Malta
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Charter Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Charter Grove is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charter Grove
    • Coltonville ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Coltonville is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coltonville
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westmoreland, with the one closest to Westmoreland listed first.
    • Ashton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Franklin Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Steward
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • McHenry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westmoreland, with the one closest to Westmoreland listed first.
    • Marengo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Harvard
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Ogle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westmoreland, with the one closest to Westmoreland listed first.
    • Stillman Valley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Byron
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Davis Junction
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Egan
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Egan is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egan
    • Holcomb
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Monroe Center
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lindenwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Leaf River
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Adeline
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Adeline is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adeline
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
    • Oregon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Chana
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Honey Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Honey Creek is located in Ogle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
  • Stephenson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westmoreland, with the one closest to Westmoreland listed first.
    • Davis
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Davis is located in Stephenson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 616 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Davis <1>
    • German Valley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Ridott
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Rock City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Rock City is located in Stephenson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 279 people
    • Dakota
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Rock Grove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Rock Grove is located in Stephenson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Grove
    • Afolkey
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Afolkey is located in Stephenson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Afolkey
    • Freeport
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Cedarville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Florence
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Florence is located in Stephenson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
    • Orangeville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Red Oak
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Red Oak is located in Stephenson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oak
  • Green County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westmoreland, with the one closest to Westmoreland listed first.
    • Brodhead
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Brodhead is located in Green County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brodhead
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,204 people
    • Twin Grove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Twin Grove is located in Green County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Grove
  • Rock County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westmoreland, with the one closest to Westmoreland listed first.
    • Beloit
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Beloit is located in Rock County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beloit
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 36,637 people
    • Newark
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Newark is located in Rock County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
    • Garden Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Garden Village is located in Rock County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Village
    • Avon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Avon is located in Rock County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
    • Shopiere
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Shopiere is located in Rock County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shopiere
    • Orfordville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Orfordville is located in Rock County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orfordville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,486 people
    • Clinton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Clinton is located in Rock County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,119 people
    • Tiffany
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Tiffany is located in Rock County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiffany
    • Hanover
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Hanover is located in Rock County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanover
    • Footville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Footville is located in Rock County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Footville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 822 people
    • Avalon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Avalon is located in Rock County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avalon
    • Emerald Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Emerald Grove is located in Rock County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Grove
  • Walworth County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westmoreland, with the one closest to Westmoreland listed first.
    • Sharon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Sharon is located in Walworth County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,546 people
    • Allens Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Allens Grove is located in Walworth County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Grove

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

Cemeteries Near Westmoreland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westmoreland.

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

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

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

  • Willwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Winnebago Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Cedar Bluff Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Scandinavian Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • St. James & St. Marys Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Auburn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Prospect Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • North Burritt Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Guilford Turner Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Marsh Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (252 more) ...
    • Owen Center Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Middle Creek Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Kishwaukee Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)

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 Westmoreland in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Westmoreland.

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

  • Rockford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Wempletown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Wempletown is located in Winnebago County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wempletown
  • Ruby
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Ruby is located in Winnebago County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
  • Jonesville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jonesville is located in Winnebago County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville
  • Greendale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Greendale is located in Winnebago County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greendale
  • Genet
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Genet is located in Winnebago County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genet
  • Kishwaukee
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Kishwaukee is located in Winnebago County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kishwaukee
  • New Millford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • New Millford is located in Winnebago County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Millford
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 851 people
  • Harlem
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Harlem is located in Winnebago County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem
  • Seward
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Perryville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Perryville is located in Winnebago County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perryville
  • Pecatonica
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Harrison
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Harrison is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
    • Byron
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Stillman Valley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Westmoreland ...

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 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Westmoreland.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Westmoreland, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Westmoreland.

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 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 Westmoreland:

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