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 Wilbur Heights (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 Wilbur Heights. 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 Wilbur Heights ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Wilbur Heights: Wilbur Hts. (in Canada, 'Hgts.' is the more common abbreviation.)
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.
Wilbur Heights is located in Champaign 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 Champaign County: Douglas, Edgar, Ford, McLean, Piatt & Vermilion.
Below are the counties that are near Wilbur Heights. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wilbur Heights:
- Champaign County (The home county of Wilbur Heights)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilbur Heights, with the one closest to Wilbur Heights listed first.
- Champaign
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Urbana
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Staley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Staley is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staley
- Savoy
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mira
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Mira is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mira
- Mayview
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Mayview is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayview
- Thomasboro
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Bondville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Lake of the Woods
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lake of the Woods is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake of the Woods
- Mahomet
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Saint Joseph
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Philo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Seymour
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- De Witt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilbur Heights, with the one closest to Wilbur Heights listed first.
- Farmer City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Watkins
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Watkins is located in De Witt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watkins
- Parnell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Parnell is located in De Witt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnell
- Fullerton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Fullerton is located in De Witt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fullerton
- Weldon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- De Witt
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- De Witt is located in De Witt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Witt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
- Douglas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilbur Heights, with the one closest to Wilbur Heights listed first.
- Fairland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Fairland is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairland
- Hayes
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Hayes is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayes
- Villa Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Villa Grove is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,414 people
- Chicken Bristle
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Chicken Bristle is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicken Bristle
- Camargo
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Tuscola
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Ficklin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Ficklin is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ficklin
- Patterson Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Patterson Springs is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson Springs
- Garrett
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Garrett is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
- Murdock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Newman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Kemp
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Kemp is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kemp
- Edgar County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilbur Heights, with the one closest to Wilbur Heights listed first.
- Palermo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Palermo is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palermo
- Hume
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilbur Heights, with the one closest to Wilbur Heights listed first.
- Proctor
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Proctor is located in Ford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor
- Elliott
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Paxton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Gibson City
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Gibson City is located in Ford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,275 people
- Gibson City has also been known as:
- Gibson
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gibson City <1>
- Garber
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Garber is located in Ford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garber
- Melvin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Iroquois County
- Loda
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- McLean County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilbur Heights, with the one closest to Wilbur Heights listed first.
- Bellflower
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Laurette
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Laurette is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurette
- Kumler
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Kumler is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kumler
- Glen Avon
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Glen Avon is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Avon
- Saybrook
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Arrowsmith
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Piatt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilbur Heights, with the one closest to Wilbur Heights listed first.
- Mansfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- White Heath
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Monticello
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- De Land
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Bement
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Atwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Voorhies
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Voorhies is located in Piatt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Voorhies
- Milmine
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cisco
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Hammond
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Vermilion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilbur Heights, with the one closest to Wilbur Heights listed first.
- Fithian
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Muncie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Fairmount
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Armstrong
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Allerton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Collison
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Glenburn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Glenburn is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenburn
- Newtown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Newtown is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
- Oakwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Belgium Row
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Belgium Row is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgium Row
- Missionfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Missionfield is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missionfield
- Potomac
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Archie
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Archie is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archie
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wilbur Heights, see our County-by-County Page for Wilbur Heights.
Cemeteries Near Wilbur Heights ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wilbur Heights.
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 Wilbur Heights - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wilbur Heights covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wilbur Heights, with the one closest to Wilbur Heights listed first.
- Lincoln Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Cemetery
- The Lincoln Cemetery has also been known as:
- Lincoln Memorial Gardens
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Woodlawn Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Urbana.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #108933 <2>
- Gregory Burial Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Leal Park Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leal Park Cemetery
- The Leal Park Cemetery has also been known as:
- Old Urbana Cemetery
- East Lawn Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lawn Cemetery
- The East Lawn Cemetery has also been known as:
- Eastlawn Addition Cemetery
- Eastlawn Burial Park
- Eastlawn Cemetery
- Greenwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood Cemetery
- The Greenwood Cemetery has also been known as:
- Harvey Cemetery
- St. Marys Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Roselawn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roselawn Cemetery
- The Roselawn Cemetery has also been known as:
- New Mt. Hope Cemetery
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Champaign County Poor Farm Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Clements Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Sugartree Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugartree Grove Cemetery
- The Sugartree Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
- Brumley Cemetery
- Continue List (232 more) ...
- Dunn Locust Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn Locust Grove Cemetery
- The Dunn Locust Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
- Dunn Cemetery
- Ensley Cemetery
- Locust Grove Cemetery
- Locust Grove Church Cemetery
- Brownfield Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownfield Cemetery
- The Brownfield Cemetery has also been known as:
- Old Brownfield Cemetery
- Yearsley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yearsley Cemetery
- The Yearsley Cemetery has also been known as:
- Yearsley & Brownfield Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #108978 <2>
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 Wilbur Heights in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wilbur Heights.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wilbur Heights, with the one closest to Wilbur Heights listed first.
- Champaign
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Leverett
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Leverett is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leverett
- Staley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Staley is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staley
- Savoy
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mira
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Mira is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mira
- Rising
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Rising is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising
- Bondville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mayview
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Mayview is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayview
- Sellers
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sellers is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers
- Thomasboro
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Deers
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Deers is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deers
- Mahomet
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Seymour
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Tolono
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Philo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wilbur Heights. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wilbur Heights.
Newspapers Published in Wilbur Heights ...
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 228 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wilbur Heights.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wilbur Heights, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wilbur Heights.
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 Wilbur Heights:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Champaign County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- De Witt County
- Douglas County
- Edgar County
- Ford County
- Iroquois County
- McLean County
- Piatt County
- Vermilion County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Illinois
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 Wilbur Heights, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Wilbur Heights) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |