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 Adrian (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 Adrian. 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.
Adrian is located in Hancock 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 Hancock County: Lee (IA), Adams, Henderson, McDonough, Schuyler, Clark (MO) & Lewis (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Adrian. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Adrian:
- Hancock County (The home county of Adrian)
- The following are listed by their distance from Adrian, with the one closest to Adrian listed first.
- Burnside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Burnside is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
- Colusa
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Ferris
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Powellton
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Powellton is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
- Dallas City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Pontoosuc
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Pontoosuc is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pontoosuc
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- Carthage
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Niota
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Elvaston
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fountain Green
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Fountain Green is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Green
- Disco
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Disco is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Disco
- La Harpe
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- La Harpe is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Harpe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,123 people
- Nauvoo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Adrian, with the one closest to Adrian listed first.
- Loraine
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lima
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- La Prairie
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Golden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Marcelline
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Marcelline is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcelline
- Mendon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Adrian, with the one closest to Adrian listed first.
- Lomax
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Iowa Junction
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Iowa Junction is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Junction
- Terre Haute
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Terre Haute is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terre Haute
- Carman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Gulf Port
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Gulf Port is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Port
- Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
- Stronghurst
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Olena
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Olena is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olena
- Raritan
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Raritan is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raritan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
- Media
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Media is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Media
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Gladstone
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Biggsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Biggsville is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biggsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
- McDonough County
- The following are listed by their distance from Adrian, with the one closest to Adrian listed first.
- Blandinsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- VIshnu Springs ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- VIshnu Springs is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for VIshnu Springs
- Colmar
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Colmar is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colmar
- Tennessee
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Colchester
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Sciota
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- East Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- East Village is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
- Good Hope
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Lamone Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Lamone Village is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamone Village
- Macomb
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- University Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- University Village is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Village
- Schuyler County
- Huntsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Adrian, with the one closest to Adrian listed first.
- Smithshire
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Youngstown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Youngstown is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngstown
- Roseville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Des Moines County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Adrian, with the one closest to Adrian listed first.
- Patterson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Patterson is located in Des Moines County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Burlington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- West Burlington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Middletown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Middletown is located in Des Moines County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
- Danville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Danville is located in Des Moines County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
- Kline
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Kline is located in Des Moines County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kline
- Dodgeville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Dodgeville is located in Des Moines County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
- Sperry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Sperry is located in Des Moines County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sperry
- Henry County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Adrian, with the one closest to Adrian listed first.
- Lowell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lowell is located in Henry County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- New London
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lee County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Adrian, with the one closest to Adrian listed first.
- Fort Madison
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Galland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Galland is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galland
- Sandusky
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Sandusky is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
- Wever
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Montrose
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Keokuk
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sawyer
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sawyer is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer
- Former names for Sawyer:
- Atlee
- Edwards
- Jeffersonville ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Jeffersonville is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeffersonville
- South Augusta
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- South Augusta is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Augusta
- Buena Vista ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Buena Vista is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Denmark
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- New Boston
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- New Boston is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Boston
- Charleston
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Charleston is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Clark County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Adrian, with the one closest to Adrian listed first.
- Alexandria
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Francisville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Saint Francisville is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Francisville
- Wayland
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Wayland is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Dumas
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Dumas is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumas
- Revere
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Clark City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Clark City is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark City
- Peaksville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Peaksville is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Athens
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Athens is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
- Kahoka
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Saint Patrick
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Patrick is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Patrick
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Adrian, see our County-by-County Page for Adrian.
Cemeteries Near Adrian ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Adrian.
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 Adrian - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Adrian covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Adrian, with the one closest to Adrian listed first.
- Rock Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Pilot Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Byley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Woodring Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- McKay Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Little Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Thornber Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Myers Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Barnes Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Moss Ridge Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Durham Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Harris Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (441 more) ...
- Pontoosuc Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Old Carthage Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Tull Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Adrian had a population of 172 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Adrian, with the one closest to Adrian listed first.
- Colusa
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Ferris
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Burnside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Burnside is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
- McCall
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- McCall is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCall
- Powellton
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Powellton is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
- Durham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Durham is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durham
- Dallas City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Pontoosuc
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Pontoosuc is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pontoosuc
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- Carthage
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- La Crosse
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- La Crosse is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Crosse
- Elvaston
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Webster
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Webster is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Niota
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sonora ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Sonora is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonora
- Fountain Green
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Fountain Green is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Green
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Adrian. See our List of 1890's Communities around Adrian.
Newspapers Published in Adrian ...
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 154 newspapers that have been published in the area around Adrian.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Adrian, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Adrian.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Adrian:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Hancock County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- Henderson County
- McDonough County
- Schuyler County
- Warren County
- Des Moines County
- Henry County
- Lee County
- Clark County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Illinois
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 Adrian, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Adrian) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |