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 Ames (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 Ames. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.
Ames is located in Monroe 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 Monroe County: Randolph, Saint Clair, Jefferson (MO), Saint Louis (MO) & Sainte Genevieve (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Ames. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ames:
- Monroe County (The home county of Ames)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ames, with the one closest to Ames listed first.
- Renault
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Fults
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Burksville Station
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Burksville Station is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville Station
- Burksville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Burksville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville
- Hecker
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Maeystown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wartburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wartburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartburg
- Chalfin Bridge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Chalfin Bridge is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalfin Bridge
- Madonnaville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Madonnaville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madonnaville
- Monroe City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Monroe City is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe City
- Waterloo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Foster Pond ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Foster Pond is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Pond
- Mitchie
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Mitchie is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchie
- Clinton County
- New Memphis
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jackson County
- Degognia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Degognia is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Degognia
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ames, with the one closest to Ames listed first.
- Cutler
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Willisville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Winkle
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Winkle is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winkle
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ames, with the one closest to Ames listed first.
- Ruma
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Ruma is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
- Red Bud
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Prairie du Rocher
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Prairie du Rocher is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie du Rocher
- Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
- Prairie du Rocher has also been known as:
- Prairie du Rocher village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prairie du Rocher <1>
- Modoc
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Modoc is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modoc
- Evansville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Preston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Preston is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
- Baldwin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Walsh
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Walsh is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsh
- Ellis Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Houston
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Houston is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
- New Palestine
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- New Palestine is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Palestine
- Dozaville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Dozaville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dozaville
- Kaskaskia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Kaskaskia is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaskaskia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13 people
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ames, with the one closest to Ames listed first.
- New Athens
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- New Athens is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Athens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,865 people
- Lenzburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lementon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lementon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lementon
- Marissa
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Smithton
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Freeburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Millstadt
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Fayetteville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fayetteville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 336 people
- Saint Libory
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Belleville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Imbs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Imbs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imbs
- Dupo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Dupo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,845 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dupo <1>
- Falling Spring
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Falling Spring is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Spring
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ames, with the one closest to Ames listed first.
- Clarmin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Clarmin is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarmin
- Caspars
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Caspars is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caspars
- Stone Church
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Stone Church is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Church
- Elkton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Elkton is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Venedy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Venedy is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venedy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
- Oakdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Jefferson County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ames, with the one closest to Ames listed first.
- Crystal City
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Festus
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Festus is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Festus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,114 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Festus <1>
- Herculaneum
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Pevely
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pevely is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pevely
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,001 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pevely <1>
- Flucom
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Flucom is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flucom
- Horine
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Horine is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horine
- Olympian Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Olympian Village is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olympian Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 752 people
- Barnhart
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Kimmswick
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Knorpp
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Knorpp is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knorpp
- Imperial
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Hematite
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hematite is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hematite
- Flamm City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Flamm City is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flamm City
- Perry County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ames, with the one closest to Ames listed first.
- Lithium
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Lithium is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithium
- McBride
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- McBride is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBride
- Sereno
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sereno is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sereno
- Perryville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Saint Francois County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ames, with the one closest to Ames listed first.
- French Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Silver Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Silver Springs is located in Saint Francois County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Springs
- Saint Louis City (MO)
- Carondelet
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Carondelet is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carondelet
- Saint Louis County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ames, with the one closest to Ames listed first.
- Oakville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Oakville is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Ivory
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ivory is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivory
- Mattese
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mattese is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattese
- Mehlville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mehlville is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mehlville
- Lemay
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lemay is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemay
- Bella Villa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bella Villa is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bella Villa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 721 people
- Concord
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Concord is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Green Park
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Green Park is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,614 people
- Saint George
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Saint George is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint George
- Estimated population in 2011: 1,336 people
- Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ames, with the one closest to Ames listed first.
- Little Rock Landing ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Little Rock Landing is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock Landing
- Brickeys
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Brickeys is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickeys
- Former names for Brickeys:
- Brickeys Gristmill
- Brickeys Landing
- Clement ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Clement is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clement
- Sainte Genevieve
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Needmore
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Needmore is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
- Bloomsdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Marlo ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Marlo is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlo
- Zell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Zell is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zell
- Quarry Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Quarry Town is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quarry Town
- Quarry Town has also been known as:
- Quarrytown
- Kinsey
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Kinsey is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinsey
- Rocky Ridge Ranch
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rocky Ridge Ranch is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge Ranch
- Rocky Ridge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rocky Ridge is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge
- Lawrenceton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Lawrenceton is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceton
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ames, see our County-by-County Page for Ames.
Cemeteries Near Ames ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ames.
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 Ames - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ames covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ames, with the one closest to Ames listed first.
- Nelson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Rebenack Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- St. John Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Studt Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- St. Peter Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Zion Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Grant Pass Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- St. Peters Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (365 more) ...
- St. Boniface Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Kelly Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ralls Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
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 Ames had a population of 13 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ames, with the one closest to Ames listed first.
- Ruma
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Ruma is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
- Renault
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Prairie du Rocher
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Prairie du Rocher is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie du Rocher
- Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
- Prairie du Rocher has also been known as:
- Prairie du Rocher village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prairie du Rocher <1>
- Red Bud
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Modoc
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Modoc is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modoc
- Evansville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Burksville Station
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Burksville Station is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville Station
- Burksville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Burksville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville
- Preston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Preston is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
- Sainte Genevieve
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Baldwin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Hecker
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Maeystown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bloomsdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ellis Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ames. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ames.
Newspapers Published in Ames ...
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 125 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ames.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ames, 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 Ames.
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 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 Ames:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Monroe County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clinton County
- Jackson County
- Perry County
- Randolph County
- Saint Clair County
- Washington County
- Jefferson County
- Perry County
- Saint Francois County
- Saint Louis City
- Saint Louis County
- Sainte Genevieve 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 Ames, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ames) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |