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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 Darien (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 Darien. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

Darien is located in Walworth 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 Walworth County: Boone (IL), McHenry (IL), Jefferson, Kenosha, Racine, Rock & Waukesha.

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

  • Walworth County     (The home county of Darien)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Darien, with the one closest to Darien listed first.
    • Delavan
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Allens Grove
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Delavan Lake
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Delavan Lake is located in Walworth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan Lake
    • Sharon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Sharon is located in Walworth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,546 people
    • Walworth
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Walworth is located in Walworth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walworth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,827 people
    • Williams Bay
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Richmond
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Fontana-on-Geneva Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Fontana-on-Geneva Lake is located in Walworth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontana-on-Geneva Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,743 people
    • Elkhorn
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Big Foot Prairie
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Como
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Como
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Heart Prairie
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Dane County
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Darien, with the one closest to Darien listed first.
    • Cold Spring
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Palmyra
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Palmyra is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,746 people
    • Hebron
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Hebron is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
    • Fort Atkinson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Carcajou
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake Koshkonong
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake Koshkonong is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Koshkonong
    • Rome
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Rome is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
    • Helenville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Jefferson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Jefferson is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,037 people
    • Sullivan
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Sullivan is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
  • Kenosha County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Darien, with the one closest to Darien listed first.
    • Powers Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Powers Lake is located in Kenosha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powers Lake
    • Slades Corners
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Twin Lakes
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Fox River
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Camp Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Camp Lake is located in Kenosha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Lake
    • Brighton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Paddock Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • 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
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Racine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Darien, with the one closest to Darien listed first.
    • Bohners Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Bohners Lake is located in Racine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bohners Lake
    • Burlington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Burlington is located in Racine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,898 people
    • Honey Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Browns Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Browns Lake is located in Racine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Lake
    • Rochester
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Caldwell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Waterford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Waterford is located in Racine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,618 people
    • Eagle Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Eagle Lake is located in Racine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Lake
  • Rock County
  • Waukesha County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Darien, with the one closest to Darien listed first.
    • Eagle
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Eagleville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Mukwonago
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Mukwonago is located in Waukesha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mukwonago
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,107 people
    • North Prairie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • North Prairie is located in Waukesha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Prairie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,236 people
    • Ottawa
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Genesee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Genesee is located in Waukesha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genesee
    • Dousman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Dousman is located in Waukesha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dousman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,317 people
    • Genesee Depot
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Boone County (IL)
  • Lake County (IL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Darien, with the one closest to Darien listed first.
    • Fox Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Channel Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Channel Lake is located in Lake County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Channel Lake
    • Lake Catherine
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Lake Catherine is located in Lake County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Catherine
  • McHenry County (IL)
  • Winnebago County (IL)

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

Cemeteries Near Darien ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Darien.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Darien, with the one closest to Darien 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 Darien had a population of 354 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Darien had a population of 1,591 people.

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

  • Allens Grove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Delavan
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Fairfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Fairfield is located in Rock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
  • Sharon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Sharon is located in Walworth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,546 people
  • East Delavan
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • East Delavan is located in Walworth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Delavan
  • Clinton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Williams Bay
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Johnstown
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Big Foot Prairie
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Elkhorn
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Johnstown Center
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Emerald Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Millard
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Millard is located in Walworth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millard
    • Blaine
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Blaine is located in Boone County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
    • Lawrence
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Lawrence is located in McHenry County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Darien ...

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 139 newspapers that have been published in the area around Darien.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Darien. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Darien and those printed in the larger area surrounding Darien.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3> of Darien.

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 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 Darien:

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>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- Darien) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Darien, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.