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 Wilson (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 Wilson. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Wilson 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 Wilson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wilson:
- Lake County (The home county of Wilson)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Long Lake
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Long Lake is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lake
- Ingleside
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Fox Lake Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Fox Lake Hills is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Lake Hills
- Monaville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Monaville is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monaville
- Round Lake Heights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Fort Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Hill is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Hill
- Round Lake
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Round Lake Beach
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Volo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Round Lake Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fox Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hainesville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Boone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Capron
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Garden Prairie
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Cook County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Barrington
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Barrington Hills
(16 miles [25.7 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
- Capri Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Capri Village is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capri Village
- Inverness
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Palatine
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- South Barrington
(19 miles [30.6 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
- Wheeling
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Plum Grove Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Plum Grove Village is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Grove Village
- Winthrop Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Winthrop Village is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winthrop Village
- Fairfax Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Fairfax Village is located in Cook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax Village
- Hoffman Estates
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Arlington Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- DeKalb County
- New Lebanon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- New Lebanon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lebanon
- DuPage County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Roselle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Bartlett
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Itasca
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Keeneyville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Keeneyville is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeneyville
- Medinah
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Bloomingdale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Cloverdale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Cloverdale is located in DuPage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Wayne
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Wood Dale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Bensenville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Kane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Carpentersville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- East Dundee
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- West Dundee
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Freeman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Freeman is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Gilberts
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sleepy Hollow
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Elgin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Pingree Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hampshire
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Starks
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Starks is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starks
- South Elgin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- South Elgin is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elgin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24,646 people
- North Plato
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- North Plato is located in Kane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Plato
- McHenry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Lakemoor
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pistakee Highlands
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pistakee Highlands is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pistakee Highlands
- Sunnyside
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Sunnyside is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
- Johnsburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Spring Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Holiday Hills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Holiday Hills is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 574 people
- Island Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Island Lake is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,951 people
- McCullom Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- McCullom Lake is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCullom Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 996 people
- Solon Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- McHenry
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Ringwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Barreville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Barreville is located in McHenry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barreville
- Kenosha County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Benet Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Benet Lake is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benet Lake
- Lake Shangrila
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Lake Shangrila is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Shangrila
- Camp Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Camp Lake is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Lake
- Fox River
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Fox River is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox River
- Salem Lakes
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Salem Lakes is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem Lakes
- Former names for Salem Lakes:
- Salem
- Silver Lake
- Fossland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Fossland is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fossland
- Twin Lakes
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Twin Lakes is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,234 people
- Bristol
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Bristol is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,145 people
- Paddock Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Paddock Lake is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,232 people
- Woodworth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Woodworth is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodworth
- Powers Lake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Powers Lake is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powers Lake
- Pleasant Prairie
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Prairie is located in Kenosha County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Prairie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,373 people
- Racine County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Bohners Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Bohners Lake is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bohners Lake
- Browns Lake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Browns Lake is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Lake
- Burlington
(22 miles [35.4 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
(22 miles [35.4 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
- Eagle Lake
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Eagle Lake is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Lake
- Rochester
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Rochester is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,880 people
- Sturtevant
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sturtevant is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturtevant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,637 people
- Yorkville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Yorkville is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkville
- Mount Pleasant
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 27,048 people
- Honey Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Honey Creek is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Waterford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Waterford is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,618 people
- Elmwood Park
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Elmwood Park is located in Racine County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 488 people
- Walworth County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Genoa City
(12 miles [19.3 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
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pell Lake is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pell Lake
- Zenda
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Zenda is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenda
- Lake Geneva
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Geneva is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Geneva
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,096 people
- Lyons
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lyons is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
- Voree ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Voree is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Voree
- Lake Como
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Como is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Como
- Springfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Springfield is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Como
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Como is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Como
- Fontana-on-Geneva Lake
(24 miles [38.6 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
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Como Beach is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Como Beach
- Big Foot Prairie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Big Foot Prairie is located in Walworth County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Foot Prairie
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wilson, see our County-by-County Page for Wilson.
Cemeteries Near Wilson ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wilson.
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 Wilson - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wilson covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Grant Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Ft. Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- East Fox Lake Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Volo Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Peters Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Grass Lake Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Fisher Family Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Avon Centre Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Angolian Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Grayslake Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Sand Lake Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (274 more) ...
- St. Marys Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Woodland Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- St. Patrick Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
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 Wilson in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wilson.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Fort Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Hill is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Hill
- Volo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Rollins
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Rollins is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollins
- Hainesville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fox Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Villa
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Villa is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Villa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,525 people
- Grayslake
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Loon Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Loon Lake is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loon Lake
- Grass Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Grass Lake is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grass Lake
- Johnsburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Fremont Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fremont Center is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont Center
- Spring Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Wauconda
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Millburn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Millburn is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millburn
- Antioch
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wilson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wilson.
Newspapers Published in Wilson ...
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 79 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wilson.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wilson, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wilson.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Wilson:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Lake County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Boone County
- Cook County
- DeKalb County
- DuPage County
- Kane County
- McHenry County
- Kenosha County
- Racine County
- Walworth 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 Wilson, 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 from Point A (ie- Wilson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |