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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 York Center (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 York Center. 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 York Center ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for York Center: York Ctr. (or less commonly used: York Cen., York Cent. or York Cntr.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named York Center. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for York Center.

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.

York Center is located in DuPage 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 DuPage County: Cook, Kane, Kendall & Will.

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

  • DuPage County     (The home county of York Center)
    • The following are listed by their distance from York Center, with the one closest to York Center listed first.
    • Oak Brook Terrace
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Oak Brook Terrace is located in DuPage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Brook Terrace
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,094 people
    • Utopia
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Utopia is located in DuPage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utopia
    • Lombard
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Villa Park
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Villa Park is located in DuPage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,291 people
    • Oak Brook
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Elmhurst
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • South Elmhurst
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • South Elmhurst is located in DuPage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elmhurst
    • Downers Grove
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Clarendon Hills
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Westmont
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Hinsdale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Glen Ellyn
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Addison
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Cook County
    • The following are listed by their distance from York Center, with the one closest to York Center listed first.
    • Hillside
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Berkeley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Westchester
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Western Springs
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bellwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Bellwood is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,436 people
      • Bellwood has also been known as:
      • Bellwood village
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bellwood <1>
    • Broadview
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • La Grange Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Northlake
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Stone Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Brookfield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Hines
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Franklin Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Indian Head Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Indian Head Park is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,680 people
  • Kane County
    • The following are listed by their distance from York Center, with the one closest to York Center listed first.
    • Batavia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Geneva
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Mooseheart
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Saint Charles
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Coleman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Coleman is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
    • Aurora
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • North Aurora
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • North Aurora is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Aurora
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,144 people
    • Elgin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • South Elgin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • South Elgin is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elgin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 24,646 people
    • Bonnie
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Bonnie is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnie
      • Bonnie has also been known as:
      • Bonnie Valley
    • East Dundee
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Campton Hills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Campton Hills is located in Kane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campton Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,063 people
      • Campton Hills has also been known as:
      • Campton Hills village
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Campton Hills <1>
    • Wasco
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Kendall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from York Center, with the one closest to York Center listed first.
    • Boulder Hill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Boulder Hill is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder Hill
    • Montgomery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Oswego
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bristol
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Yorkville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Plano
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Plano is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,879 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plano <1>
    • Plattville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Plattville is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from York Center, with the one closest to York Center listed first.
    • Buffalo Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Deer Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Aptakisic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Aptakisic is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aptakisic
    • Deerfield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Kildeer
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Riverwoods
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Lake Zurich
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Lincolnshire
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Long Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Prairie View
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Prairie View is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie View
    • Braeside
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Braeside is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braeside
    • Ravinia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Ravinia is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravinia
    • Bannockburn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • McHenry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from York Center, with the one closest to York Center listed first.
    • Algonquin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Fox River Grove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cary
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Cary is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,929 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cary <1>
    • Lake-in-the-Hills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Trout Valley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Trout Valley is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trout Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 508 people
    • Oakwood Hills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Oakwood Hills is located in McHenry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,011 people
  • Will County
    • The following are listed by their distance from York Center, with the one closest to York Center listed first.
    • Winston Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Winston Village is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winston Village
    • Bolingbrook
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Colonial Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Colonial Village is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
    • Bloomfield Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Bloomfield Village is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield Village
    • Goodings Grove
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Goodings Grove is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodings Grove
    • Romeoville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Homer Glen
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Homer Glen is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer Glen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 24,281 people
      • Homer Glen has also been known as:
      • Homer Glen village
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Homer Glen <1>
    • Lockport
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Normantown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Normantown is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normantown
    • Plainfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Walker
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Walker is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
    • Crest Hill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Crystal Lawns
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Crystal Lawns is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lawns
  • Lake County (IN)
    • Whiting
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near York Center ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of York Center.

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 York Center - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Allerton Ridge Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Boeger Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Chapel Hill Gardens West Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • St. Marys Lombard Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Babcock's Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Pierce Downer Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • St. Mary of Gostyn Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Brownswood Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Bronswood Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Zion Evangelical Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (392 more) ...
    • Glos Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • College Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • St. Mary's Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)

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

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

  • Utopia
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Utopia is located in DuPage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utopia
  • Lombard
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • South Addison
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • South Addison is located in DuPage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Addison
  • Downers Grove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • South Elmhurst
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • South Elmhurst is located in DuPage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Elmhurst
  • Elmhurst
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Clarendon Hills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Hinsdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Fullersburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Fullersburg is located in DuPage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fullersburg
  • Hillside
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Glen Ellyn
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Addison
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Western Springs
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Lisle
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lisle is located in DuPage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23,153 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lisle <1>
    • Gretna
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Gretna is located in DuPage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gretna

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

Newspapers Published in York Center ...

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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around York Center.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of York Center, 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 York Center.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 York Center:

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 York Center, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- York Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.