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 Chicago (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 Chicago. 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 hospitals and 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.
Chicago is located in Kenosha County.
To see how the shape of Wisconsin's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Kenosha County: Lake (IL), McHenry (IL), Racine & Walworth.
Below are the counties that are near Chicago. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Chicago:
- Kenosha County (The home county of Chicago)
- The following are listed by their distance from Chicago, with the one closest to Chicago listed first.
- Kenosha
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Kenosha is located in Kenosha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenosha
- Population from the 2020 Census: 99,570 people
- Somers
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Somers is located in Kenosha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somers
- Pleasant Prairie
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Prairie is located in Kenosha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Prairie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,373 people
- Fossland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fossland is located in Kenosha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fossland
- Woodworth
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Woodworth is located in Kenosha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodworth
- Bristol
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Bristol is located in Kenosha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,145 people
- Paris
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Paris is located in Kenosha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
- Lake Shangrila
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lake Shangrila is located in Kenosha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Shangrila
- Benet Lake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Benet Lake is located in Kenosha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benet Lake
- Brighton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Brighton is located in Kenosha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Paddock Lake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Paddock Lake is located in Kenosha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,232 people
- Salem Lakes
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Salem Lakes is located in Kenosha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem Lakes
- Former names for Salem Lakes:
- Salem
- Silver Lake
- Camp Lake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Camp Lake is located in Kenosha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Lake
- Milwaukee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chicago, with the one closest to Chicago listed first.
- Oak Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Oak Creek is located in Milwaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36,469 people
- Union Church
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Union Church is located in Milwaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Church
- South Milwaukee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- South Milwaukee is located in Milwaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Milwaukee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,673 people
- Franklin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Franklin is located in Milwaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 35,925 people
- Cudahy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Cudahy is located in Milwaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cudahy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,077 people
- Saint Martins
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Martins is located in Milwaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Martins
- Greendale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Greendale is located in Milwaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greendale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,127 people
- Saint Francis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Saint Francis is located in Milwaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Francis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,725 people
- Hales Corners
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hales Corners is located in Milwaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hales Corners
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,553 people
- Greenfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Greenfield is located in Milwaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 37,183 people
- West Milwaukee
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- West Milwaukee is located in Milwaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Milwaukee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,090 people
- Racine County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chicago, with the one closest to Chicago listed first.
- Elmwood Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Elmwood Park is located in Racine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 488 people
- Sturtevant
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Sturtevant is located in Racine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturtevant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,637 people
- Mount Pleasant
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Racine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 27,048 people
- Racine
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Racine is located in Racine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Racine
- Population from the 2020 Census: 76,237 people
- Franksville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Franksville is located in Racine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franksville
- North Bay
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- North Bay is located in Racine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bay
- Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
- Wind Point
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Wind Point is located in Racine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wind Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,685 people
- Union Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Union Grove is located in Racine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,266 people
- Yorkville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Yorkville is located in Racine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkville
- Caledonia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Caledonia is located in Racine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 25,235 people
- Eagle Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Eagle Lake is located in Racine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Lake
- Raymond
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Raymond is located in Racine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
- Kneeland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Kneeland is located in Racine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kneeland
- Walworth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chicago, with the one closest to Chicago listed first.
- Voree ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Voree is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Voree
- Genoa City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Genoa City is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genoa City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,981 people
- Pell Lake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Pell Lake is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pell Lake
- Lyons
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Lyons is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
- Lake Beulah
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Beulah is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Beulah
- Lake Geneva
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Lake Geneva is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Geneva
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,096 people
- Spring Prairie
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Spring Prairie is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Prairie
- Springfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Springfield is located in Walworth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Waukesha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chicago, with the one closest to Chicago listed first.
- Durham
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Durham is located in Waukesha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durham
- Muskego
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Muskego is located in Waukesha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muskego
- Population from the 2020 Census: 25,317 people
- Tess Corners
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Tess Corners is located in Waukesha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tess Corners
- Big Bend
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Big Bend is located in Waukesha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,487 people
- New Berlin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- New Berlin is located in Waukesha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Berlin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 39,812 people
- Prospect
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Prospect is located in Waukesha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect
- Vernon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Vernon is located in Waukesha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Lake County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Chicago, with the one closest to Chicago listed first.
- Winthrop Harbor
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Russell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Russell is located in Lake County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Zion
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Zion is located in Lake County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23,321 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Zion <1>
- Fossland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fossland is located in Lake County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fossland
- Beach Park
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Wadsworth
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Old Mill Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Antioch
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Millburn
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Millburn is located in Lake County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millburn
- Gurnee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Spaulding Corners
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Spaulding Corners is located in Lake County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spaulding Corners
- Grandwood Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Grandwood Park is located in Lake County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandwood Park
- Lindenhurst
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lindenhurst is located in Lake County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindenhurst
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,117 people
- Lindenhurst has also been known as:
- Lindenhurst village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lindenhurst <1>
- McHenry County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Chicago, with the one closest to Chicago listed first.
- Pistakee Highlands
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pistakee Highlands is located in McHenry County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pistakee Highlands
- Spring Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Solon Mills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Sunnyside
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Sunnyside is located in McHenry County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
- Johnsburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lakemoor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Richmond
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Ringwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Holiday Hills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Holiday Hills is located in McHenry County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 574 people
- Island Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Island Lake is located in McHenry County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,951 people
- McCullom Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- McCullom Lake is located in McHenry County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCullom Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 996 people
- McHenry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Barreville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Barreville is located in McHenry County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barreville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Chicago, see our County-by-County Page for Chicago.
Cemeteries Near Chicago ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chicago.
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 Chicago - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Chicago covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Chicago, with the one closest to Chicago listed first.
- Greenridge Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- St. James Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- St. James Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- St. George Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- B'nai Zek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- St. Casimirs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sunset Ridge Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Vale Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Kenosha County Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Brook Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- South Bristol Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (176 more) ...
- Oakdale Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Oliver Memorial Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Bristol - Paris Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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.<4>
While we didn't find Chicago in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Chicago.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Chicago, with the one closest to Chicago listed first.
- Kenosha
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Kenosha is located in Kenosha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenosha
- Population from the 2020 Census: 99,570 people
- Truesdell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Truesdell is located in Kenosha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truesdell
- Pleasant Prairie
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Prairie is located in Kenosha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Prairie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,373 people
- Somers
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Somers is located in Kenosha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somers
- Russell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Russell is located in Lake County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Woodworth
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Woodworth is located in Kenosha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodworth
- Racine
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Racine is located in Racine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Racine
- Population from the 2020 Census: 76,237 people
- Rosecrans
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rosecrans is located in Lake County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosecrans
- Sylvania
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sylvania is located in Racine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvania
- Wadsworth
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Paris
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Paris is located in Kenosha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
- Bristol
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Bristol is located in Kenosha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,145 people
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Franksville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Franksville is located in Racine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franksville
- Ives Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ives Grove is located in Racine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ives Grove
- Union Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Union Grove is located in Racine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,266 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Chicago. See our List of 1890's Communities around Chicago.
Newspapers Published in Chicago ...
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 105 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chicago.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Chicago, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Chicago.
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 Chicago:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Kenosha County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Milwaukee County
- Racine County
- Walworth County
- Waukesha County
- Lake County
- McHenry County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Chicago) 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 Chicago, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |