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 Alto Pass (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 Alto Pass. 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.
Alto Pass is located in Union 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 Union County: Alexander, Jackson, Johnson, Pulaski, Williamson, Cape Girardeau (MO) & Perry (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Alto Pass. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Alto Pass:
- Union County (The home county of Alto Pass)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alto Pass, with the one closest to Alto Pass listed first.
- Cobden
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Water Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Water Valley is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Jonesboro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Anna
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Wolf Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Dutch Mills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Dutch Mills is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Mills
- Lick Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Reynoldsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Reynoldsville is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
- Mount Pleasant
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Mill Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Mill Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Dongola
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Alexander County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alto Pass, with the one closest to Alto Pass listed first.
- McClure
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Elco
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- East Cape Girardeau
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- East Cape Girardeau is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cape Girardeau
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Diswood
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Diswood is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diswood
- Tamms
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Thebes
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Thebes is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thebes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Hodges Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Hodges Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges Park
- Olive Branch
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Unity
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alto Pass, with the one closest to Alto Pass listed first.
- Royalton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Zeigler
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Plumfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Plumfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
- Cambon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cambon is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambon
- Mulkeytown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Orient
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alto Pass, with the one closest to Alto Pass listed first.
- Pomona
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Makanda
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Grand Tower
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Carbondale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Murphysboro
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Gorham
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jacob
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- De Soto
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Oraville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Hallidayboro
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Hallidayboro is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallidayboro
- Vergennes
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Elkville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Ava
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alto Pass, with the one closest to Alto Pass listed first.
- Goreville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Buncombe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Deer Ridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
- Eagle Point Bay
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Eagle Point Bay is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point Bay
- Cypress
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Egyptian Hills
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Egyptian Hills is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egyptian Hills
- Vienna
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bender ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bender is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bender
- Belknap
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- New Burnside
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Ozark
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Reynoldsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Reynoldsburg is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsburg
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alto Pass, with the one closest to Alto Pass listed first.
- Pyatts
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Pyatts is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pyatts
- Denmark
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Denmark is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Du Quoin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Du Quoin is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Quoin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,591 people
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alto Pass, with the one closest to Alto Pass listed first.
- Ullin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Perks
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pulaski
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Karnak
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Grand Chain
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- New Grand Chain
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Villa Ridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Villa Ridge is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Ridge
- Olmsted
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alto Pass, with the one closest to Alto Pass listed first.
- Rockwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Shiloh Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Shiloh Hill is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh Hill
- Leanderville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Leanderville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leanderville
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alto Pass, with the one closest to Alto Pass listed first.
- Cambria
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Carterville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Crainville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Crainville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crainville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,419 people
- Blairsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Blairsville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsville
- Dewmaine
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Dewmaine is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewmaine
- Colp
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Colp is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colp
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Former name for Colp:
- Colpville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colp <1>
- Hurst
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Crest
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Lake Crest is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Crest
- Bush
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bush is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bush
- Population from the 2020 Census: 263 people
- Energy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Herrin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Marion
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Herrin Junction ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Herrin Junction is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrin Junction
- Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alto Pass, with the one closest to Alto Pass listed first.
- Leemon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Leemon is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemon
- Pocahontas
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Shawneetown
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Shawneetown is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawneetown
- Old Appleton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Old Appleton is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Appleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
- Cape Girardeau
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jackson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jackson is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,699 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jackson <1>
- Oak Ridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Gordonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Daisy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Daisy is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
- Friedheim
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Dutchtown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dutchtown is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchtown
- Estimated population in 2018: 94 people
- Millersville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Burfordville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Perry County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alto Pass, with the one closest to Alto Pass listed first.
- Altenburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Frohna
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Frohna is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frohna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Brazeau
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Brazeau is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazeau
- Uniontown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Uniontown is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Farrar
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Farrar is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrar
- Eureka
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Eureka is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Longtown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Longtown is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longtown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
- Biehle
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Biehle is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biehle
- Scott County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alto Pass, with the one closest to Alto Pass listed first.
- Scott City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Commerce
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Kelso
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Alto Pass, see our County-by-County Page for Alto Pass.
Cemeteries Near Alto Pass ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alto Pass.
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 Alto Pass - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Alto Pass covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Alto Pass, with the one closest to Alto Pass listed first.
- Collins Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Mt. Tabor Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Stearns Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hagler Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Vancil Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Lirley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Dutch Ridge Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Sheppard Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Zimmerman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Rallo Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (489 more) ...
- Kimmel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Rich Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lockard Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Alto Pass had a population of 389 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Alto Pass had a population of 360 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Alto Pass, with the one closest to Alto Pass listed first.
- Pomona
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Mountain Glen
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Glen is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Glen
- Cobden
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Makanda
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jonesboro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Anna
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Boskydell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Boskydell is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boskydell
- Aldridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Aldridge is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldridge
- Ware
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ware is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
- Grand Tower
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Lovejoy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Lovejoy is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovejoy
- Neelys Landing
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Neelys Landing is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neelys Landing
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Carbondale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Balcom
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Balcom is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balcom
- Wittenberg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wittenberg is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittenberg
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Alto Pass. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alto Pass.
Newspapers Published in Alto Pass ...
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 89 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alto Pass.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alto Pass, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alto Pass.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Alto Pass:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Union County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alexander County
- Franklin County
- Jackson County
- Johnson County
- Perry County
- Pulaski County
- Randolph County
- Williamson County
- Cape Girardeau County
- Perry County
- Scott 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> | 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 Alto Pass, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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- Alto Pass) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |