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 Balcom (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 Balcom. 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.
Balcom 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 Balcom. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Balcom:
- Union County (The home county of Balcom)
- The following are listed by their distance from Balcom, with the one closest to Balcom listed first.
- Anna
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dutch Mills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Dutch Mills is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Mills
- Jonesboro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dongola
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mill Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mill Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Mount Pleasant
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Cobden
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Water Valley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Water Valley is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Lick Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Reynoldsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Reynoldsville is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
- Alto Pass
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wolf Lake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Alexander County
- The following are listed by their distance from Balcom, with the one closest to Balcom listed first.
- Elco
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Tamms
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Diswood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Diswood is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diswood
- McClure
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- East Cape Girardeau
(17 miles [27.4 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
- Hodges Park
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Hodges Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges Park
- Unity
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Olive Branch
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Thebes
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Thebes is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thebes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Cache
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Frog City ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Frog City is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog City
- Miller City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Cairo Junction
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Cairo Junction is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo Junction
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Balcom, with the one closest to Balcom listed first.
- Makanda
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Pomona
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Carbondale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Grand Tower
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Murphysboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Gorham
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- De Soto
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Jacob
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Balcom, with the one closest to Balcom listed first.
- Cypress
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Buncombe
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Belknap
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Vienna
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Goreville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bender ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Bender is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bender
- Deer Ridge
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
- Eagle Point Bay
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Eagle Point Bay is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point Bay
- Egyptian Hills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Egyptian Hills is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egyptian Hills
- Wartrace
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Wartrace is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartrace
- Reynoldsburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Reynoldsburg is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsburg
- Simpson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Grantsburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Massac County
- The following are listed by their distance from Balcom, with the one closest to Balcom listed first.
- New Columbia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- New Columbia is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Columbia
- Joppa
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Big Bay
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Big Bay is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bay
- Pope County
- The following are listed by their distance from Balcom, with the one closest to Balcom listed first.
- Dixon Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Dixon Springs is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon Springs
- Glendale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Glendale is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- McCormick
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- McCormick is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCormick
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Balcom, with the one closest to Balcom listed first.
- Ullin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Perks
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pulaski
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Grand Chain
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Karnak
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- New Grand Chain
(15 miles [24.1 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
- Olmsted
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Villa Ridge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Villa Ridge is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Ridge
- Mounds
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Mounds is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mounds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
- Mound City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Saline County
- Stonefort
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Balcom, with the one closest to Balcom listed first.
- Lake Crest
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Crest is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Crest
- Carterville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Crainville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Crainville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crainville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,419 people
- Creal Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Cambria
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Dewmaine
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Dewmaine is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewmaine
- Energy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Marion
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Blairsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Blairsville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsville
- Colp
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- 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>
- Herrin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Spillertown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Spillertown is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spillertown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Bush
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Bush is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bush
- Population from the 2020 Census: 263 people
- Ballard County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Balcom, with the one closest to Balcom listed first.
- Bandana
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bandana is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandana
- Barlow
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Barlow is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 628 people
- La Center
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Kevil
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- McCracken County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Balcom, with the one closest to Balcom listed first.
- Ragland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ragland is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragland
- Woodville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Woodville is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Cimota City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cimota City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cimota City
- Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Balcom, with the one closest to Balcom listed first.
- Cape Girardeau
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Leemon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Leemon is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemon
- Jackson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- 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>
- Pocahontas
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Gordonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Shawneetown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Shawneetown is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawneetown
- Dutchtown
(27 miles [43.5 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
- Oak Ridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Old Appleton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Old Appleton is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Appleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
- Mississippi County (MO)
- Greenfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Greenfield is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Perry County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Balcom, with the one closest to Balcom listed first.
- Altenburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Frohna
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Frohna is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frohna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Brazeau
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Brazeau is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazeau
- Scott County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Balcom, with the one closest to Balcom listed first.
- Commerce
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Scott City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kelso
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Benton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Chaffee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lambert
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lambert is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert
- Population from the 2010 Census: 34 people
- New Hamburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Hamburg is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hamburg
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Balcom, see our County-by-County Page for Balcom.
Cemeteries Near Balcom ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Balcom.
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 Balcom - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Balcom covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Balcom, with the one closest to Balcom listed first.
- Kimmel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Union Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Mission Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- American Legion Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Anna City Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Grieb Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Hinkle Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Trinity Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Kollehner Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Sheffer Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- McGinnis Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (452 more) ...
- Saratoga Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Williams Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Karaker Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
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 in 1895, Balcom had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Balcom, with the one closest to Balcom listed first.
- Anna
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Springville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Springville is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Dongola
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jonesboro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mill Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mill Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Wetaug
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Wetaug is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wetaug
- Mount Pleasant
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Elco
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Cobden
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Moscow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Moscow is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Ullin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Mountain Glen
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain Glen is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Glen
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Lick Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Ware
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Ware is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
- Elvira
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Elvira is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elvira
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Balcom. See our List of 1890's Communities around Balcom.
Newspapers Published in Balcom ...
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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around Balcom.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Balcom, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Balcom.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Balcom:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Union County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alexander County
- Jackson County
- Johnson County
- Massac County
- Pope County
- Pulaski County
- Saline County
- Williamson County
- Ballard County
- McCracken County
- Cape Girardeau County
- Mississippi 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> | 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 Balcom, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Balcom) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |