RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Illinois >> Knox County >> Yates City >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Yates City (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 Yates City. 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 Yates City ...

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.

While the name of this village is Yates City, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Yates City may originally have been Yate's City.

Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Yates City might be written as Yate City.

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 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.

Yates City is located in Knox 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 Knox County: Fulton, Henry, Mercer, Peoria, Stark & Warren.

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

  • Knox County     (The home county of Yates City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Yates City, with the one closest to Yates City listed first.
    • Maquon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Williamsfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Dahinda
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Gilson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Appleton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Appleton is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
    • De Long
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • De Long is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Long
    • Knox
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Knox is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knox
    • Knoxville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Victoria
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • East Galesburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • East Galesburg is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Galesburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 761 people
    • Abingdon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Saint Augustine
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Wataga
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Yates City, with the one closest to Yates City listed first.
    • Farmington
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Norris
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Brereton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Brereton is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brereton
    • Fairview
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • London Mills
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Canton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Bybee
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Bybee is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bybee
    • Breeds
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Breeds is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breeds
    • Fiatt
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Ellisville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Banner
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Dunfermline
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Saint David
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Henry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Yates City, with the one closest to Yates City listed first.
    • Galva
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Bishop Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Marshall County
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Yates City, with the one closest to Yates City listed first.
    • Goofy Ridge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Goofy Ridge is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goofy Ridge
    • Manito
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Buzzville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Buzzville is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buzzville
    • Union
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Union is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Forest City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Forest City is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
  • McDonough County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Yates City, with the one closest to Yates City listed first.
    • Prairie City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Prairie City is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
    • Bushnell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Peoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Yates City, with the one closest to Yates City listed first.
    • Elmwood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Brimfield
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Trivoli
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Laura
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Elmore
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Elmore is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
    • Hanna City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Edwards
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Monica
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Monica is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monica
    • Maxwell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Maxwell is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
    • Norwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Norwood is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 447 people
    • Princeville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Glasford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bellevue
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Bellevue is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,037 people
  • Stark County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Yates City, with the one closest to Yates City listed first.
    • West Jersey
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • West Jersey is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Jersey
    • La Fayette
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Toulon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Speer
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Wyoming
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Modena
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Modena is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modena
    • Castleton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Tazewell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Yates City, with the one closest to Yates City listed first.
    • Talbott
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Talbott is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talbott
    • Radville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Radville is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radville
    • Creve Coeur
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Creve Coeur is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creve Coeur
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,109 people
      • Former name for Creve Coeur:
      • Wesley City
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Creve Coeur <2>
    • Wesley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Wesley is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley
    • North Pekin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • North Pekin is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Pekin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,530 people
      • Former name for North Pekin:
      • Radio City
    • East Peoria
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • East Peoria is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Peoria
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,344 people
      • Former name for East Peoria:
      • Hilton
    • Crescent
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Crescent is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
    • Marquette Heights
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Marquette Heights is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marquette Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,617 people
    • Pekin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Pekin is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pekin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,808 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pekin <2>
    • Powerton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Powerton is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powerton
    • Stoehrs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Stoehrs is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoehrs
    • Highway Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Highway Village is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highway Village
    • Midway
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Midway is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Yates City, with the one closest to Yates City listed first.
    • Surrey
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Surrey is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surrey
    • Berwick
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Cameron
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Utah
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Utah is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utah
  • Woodford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Yates City, with the one closest to Yates City listed first.
    • Bay View Gardens
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Bay View Gardens is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View Gardens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 407 people
    • Spring Bay
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Spring Bay is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Bay
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 456 people
    • Germantown Hills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Yates City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Yates City.

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 Yates City - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Yates City Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Elmwood City Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Kightlinger Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Watkins Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Summitt - Douglas Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Uniontown Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Blakeslee Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Elba Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Lehigh Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (326 more) ...
    • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Harkness Grove Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Catterton Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)

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 Yates City had a population of 637 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Yates City had a population of 641 people.

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

  • Elmwood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Douglas
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Douglas is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
  • Farmington
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Cramer
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Cramer is located in Peoria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cramer
  • Oak Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Oak Hill is located in Peoria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
  • Maquon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Rapatee
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Rapatee is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapatee
  • Trivoli
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Brimfield
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Norris
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Williamsfield
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Eden
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Eden is located in Peoria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Yates City ...

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 191 newspapers that have been published in the area around Yates City.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Yates City. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Yates City and those printed in the larger area surrounding Yates City.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<5> of Yates City.

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 Yates City:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Yates City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Yates City) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.