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 America (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 America. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
America is located in Pulaski 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 Pulaski County: Alexander, Johnson, Massac, Union & Ballard (KY).
Below are the counties that are near America. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to America:
- Pulaski County (The home county of America)
- The following are listed by their distance from America, with the one closest to America listed first.
- Olmsted
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mound City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mounds
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mounds is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mounds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
- Villa Ridge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Villa Ridge is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Ridge
- Pulaski
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Grand Chain
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Grand Chain
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Ullin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Perks
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Karnak
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Alexander County
- The following are listed by their distance from America, with the one closest to America listed first.
- Cairo Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cairo Junction is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo Junction
- Frog City ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Frog City is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog City
- Future City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Future City is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Future City
- Cache
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Hodges Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Hodges Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges Park
- Unity
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Cairo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Tamms
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Diswood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Diswood is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diswood
- Miller City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Olive Branch
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Elco
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Thebes
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Thebes is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thebes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from America, with the one closest to America listed first.
- Cypress
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Belknap
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bender ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bender is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bender
- Vienna
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Buncombe
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Reevesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Reevesville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reevesville
- Wartrace
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wartrace is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartrace
- Grantsburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Goreville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Simpson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Massac County
- The following are listed by their distance from America, with the one closest to America listed first.
- Joppa
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Metropolis
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Massac City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Massac City is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massac City
- New Columbia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- New Columbia is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Columbia
- Big Bay
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Big Bay is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bay
- Brookport
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Shady Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Shady Grove is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Pope County
- Dixon Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Dixon Springs is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon Springs
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from America, with the one closest to America listed first.
- Dongola
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Mill Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mill Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Dutch Mills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dutch Mills is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Mills
- Mount Pleasant
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Reynoldsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Reynoldsville is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
- Anna
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Jonesboro
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Lick Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Cobden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Water Valley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Water Valley is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Wolf Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ballard County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from America, with the one closest to America listed first.
- Barlow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Barlow is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 628 people
- Bandana
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Bandana is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandana
- La Center
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Wickliffe
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Kevil
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Ceredo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ceredo is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceredo
- Blandville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Blandville is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blandville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
- Gage
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Gage is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gage
- Lovelaceville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lovelaceville is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovelaceville
- Carlisle County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from America, with the one closest to America listed first.
- Bardwell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Cunningham
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Arlington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Arlington is located in Carlisle County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
- Kirbyton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kirbyton is located in Carlisle County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbyton
- Milburn
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Milburn is located in Carlisle County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburn
- Graves County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from America, with the one closest to America listed first.
- Melber
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Melber is located in Graves County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melber
- Lowes
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lowes is located in Graves County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowes
- Fancy Farm
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fancy Farm is located in Graves County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Farm
- Pottsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pottsville is located in Graves County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottsville
- Hickman County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from America, with the one closest to America listed first.
- Columbus
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Columbus is located in Hickman County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
- Spring Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Spring Hill is located in Hickman County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
- McCracken County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from America, with the one closest to America listed first.
- Ragland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Ragland is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragland
- Woodville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Woodville is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Cimota City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Cimota City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cimota City
- Future City
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Future City
- Grahamville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Grahamville is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahamville
- West Future City
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- West Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Future City
- Camelia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Camelia is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelia
- West Paducah
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Massac
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Massac is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massac
- Lone Oak
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Lone Oak is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Oak
- Hendron
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hendron is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendron
- Paducah
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Krebs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Krebs is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krebs
- Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from America, with the one closest to America listed first.
- Cape Girardeau
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dutchtown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Dutchtown is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchtown
- Estimated population in 2018: 94 people
- Mississippi County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from America, with the one closest to America listed first.
- Greenfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Greenfield is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Wyatt
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Wyatt is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Wilson City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Wilson City is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
- Charleston
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Charleston is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,015 people
- Bertrand
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Bertrand is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertrand
- Population from the 2020 Census: 747 people
- Anniston
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Anniston is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anniston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Thirtyfour Corner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Thirtyfour Corner is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thirtyfour Corner
- Wolf Island
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Wolf Island is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Island
- Whiting
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Whiting is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiting
- Pinhook
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Pinhook is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinhook
- Estimated population in 2012: 30 people
- East Prairie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Scott County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from America, with the one closest to America listed first.
- Commerce
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Diehlstadt
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Diehlstadt is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diehlstadt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
- Kelso
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Lambert
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Lambert is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert
- Population from the 2010 Census: 34 people
- Scott City
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Blodgett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Blodgett is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blodgett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
- Benton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- New Hamburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- New Hamburg is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hamburg
- Haywood City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Haywood City is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Morley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Morley is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
- Miner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Miner is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 939 people
- Chaffee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Oran
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Oran is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oran
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oran <1>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to America, see our County-by-County Page for America.
Cemeteries Near America ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of America.
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 America - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for America covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from America, with the one closest to America listed first.
- Sheets Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Wilson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Lyerly Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- King - McNeil Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Cook Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Spencer Heights Memorial Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Hogendobler Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Thistlewood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mound City National Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Concord Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Liberty Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (396 more) ...
- Green Lawn Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cairo City Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that America had a population of 47 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from America, with the one closest to America listed first.
- Olmsted
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mounds
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mounds is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mounds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
- Mound City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Villa Ridge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Villa Ridge is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Ridge
- Oscar
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Oscar is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oscar
- Barlow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Barlow is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 628 people
- Pulaski
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hodges Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Hodges Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges Park
- Unity
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Cairo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Bandana
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Bandana is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandana
- New Grand Chain
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Grand Chain
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sandusky
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sandusky is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
- Ullin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around America. See our List of 1890's Communities around America.
Newspapers Published in America ...
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 146 newspapers that have been published in the area around America.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of America, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for America.
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 websites either 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 America:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Pulaski County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alexander County
- Johnson County
- Massac County
- Pope County
- Union County
- Ballard County
- Carlisle County
- Graves County
- Hickman County
- McCracken County
- Cape Girardeau County
- Mississippi 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> | 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 America, 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 from Point A (ie- America) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |