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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 Woodstock (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 Woodstock. 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.

Woodstock is located in McHenry County and is the County Seat.

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 McHenry County: Boone, Cook, DeKalb, Kane, Lake, Kenosha (WI) & Walworth (WI).

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

  • McHenry County     (The home county of Woodstock)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodstock, with the one closest to Woodstock listed first.
    • Bull Valley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Bull Valley is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,078 people
    • Ridgefield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Greenwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Greenwood is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Wonder Lake
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Wonder Lake is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wonder Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,837 people
      • Wonder Lake has also been known as:
      • Wonder Lake village
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wonder Lake <1>
    • McHenry
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Terra Cotta
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Lakewood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Union
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • McCullom Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • McCullom Lake is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCullom Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 996 people
    • Crystal Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Barreville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Prairie Grove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Prairie Grove is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,920 people
    • Marengo
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Boone County
  • Cook County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodstock, with the one closest to Woodstock listed first.
    • Barrington Hills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Barrington Hills is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrington Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,152 people
    • Barrington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • South Barrington
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • South Barrington is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,976 people
    • Inverness
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Hoffman Estates
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Capri Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Capri Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capri Village
    • Streamwood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Palatine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairfax Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairfax Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax Village
    • Hanover Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Plum Grove Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Plum Grove Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Grove Village
    • Winthrop Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Winthrop Village is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winthrop Village
    • Rolling Meadows
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • DeKalb County
  • DuPage County
  • Kane County
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodstock, with the one closest to Woodstock listed first.
    • Fox River Valley Gardens
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Port Barrington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • Volo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Wauconda
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Fox Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Barrington
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Lake Barrington is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,840 people
    • Ingleside
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Long Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Long Lake is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lake
    • Tower Lakes
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Tower Lakes is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Lakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
    • Fort Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Fox Lake Hills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Fox Lake Hills is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Lake Hills
    • Round Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • North Barrington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • North Barrington is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,938 people
  • Winnebago County
  • Kenosha County (WI)
  • Racine County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodstock, with the one closest to Woodstock listed first.
    • Bohners Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Bohners Lake is located in Racine County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bohners Lake
    • Burlington
      (26 miles [41.8 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
    • Browns Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Browns Lake is located in Racine County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Lake
    • Honey Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Rock County (WI)
  • Walworth County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodstock, with the one closest to Woodstock listed first.
    • Zenda
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Genoa City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Genoa City is located in Walworth County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genoa City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,981 people
    • Big Foot Prairie
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Pell Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Pell Lake is located in Walworth County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pell Lake
    • Walworth
      (16 miles [25.7 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
    • Fontana-on-Geneva Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • Williams Bay
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Lake Como
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Lake Geneva
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Sharon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Sharon is located in Walworth County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,546 people
    • Como
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Lake Como Beach ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Delavan Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Delavan Lake is located in Walworth County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan Lake

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

Cemeteries Near Woodstock ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Woodstock.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Woodstock, with the one closest to Woodstock 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Woodstock had a population of 1,683 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Woodstock had a population of 25,097 people.

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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Woodstock ...

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 148 newspapers that have been published in the area around Woodstock.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Woodstock. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Woodstock and those printed in the larger area surrounding Woodstock.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<2> of Woodstock.

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 Woodstock:

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>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 from Point A (ie- Woodstock) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Woodstock, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.