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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 Bingham (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 Bingham. 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 northeast 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 north.

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 north 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.

Bingham is located in Fayette 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 Fayette County: Bond, Clay, Clinton, Effingham, Marion, Montgomery & Shelby.

Below are the counties that are near Bingham. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bingham:

  • Fayette County     (The home county of Bingham)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bingham, with the one closest to Bingham listed first.
    • Bayle City
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Bayle City is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayle City
    • Ramsey
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Dressor
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Dressor is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dressor
    • Vandalia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Hagarstown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Bluff City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Bluff City is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
    • Avena
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Avena is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avena
    • Brownstown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Shobonier
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Howards Point ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Howards Point is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howards Point
    • Saint Elmo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Holliday
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Holliday is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holliday
  • Bond County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bingham, with the one closest to Bingham listed first.
    • Mulberry Grove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Smithboro
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Pleasant Mound
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Pleasant Mound is located in Bond County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Mound
    • Greenville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Reno
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Reno is located in Bond County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
    • Sorento
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Old Ripley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Old Ripley is located in Bond County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Ripley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
    • Pocahontas
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Christian County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bingham, with the one closest to Bingham listed first.
    • Rosamond
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Pana
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Pana is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pana
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,327 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pana <1>
    • Millersville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Millersville is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersville
    • Morrisonville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Owaneco
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Palmer
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Clarksdale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Clarksdale is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksdale
    • Velma
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Velma is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Velma
    • Assumption
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Taylorville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bingham, with the one closest to Bingham listed first.
    • Keyesport
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Boulder
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Boulder is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder
    • Marydale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Marydale is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marydale
  • Effingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bingham, with the one closest to Bingham listed first.
    • Beecher City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Beecher City is located in Effingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beecher City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 451 people
    • Moccasin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Moccasin is located in Effingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moccasin
    • Altamont
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Gilmore
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Gilmore is located in Effingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
    • Dexter
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Dexter is located in Effingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dexter
    • Shumway
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Macoupin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bingham, with the one closest to Bingham listed first.
    • Mount Olive
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Hornsby
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Hornsby is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornsby
    • Lake Ka-ho
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Lake Ka-ho is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ka-ho
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
      • Lake Ka-ho has also been known as:
      • Lake Ka-Ho village
    • White City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • White City is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 230 people
    • Eagarville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bingham, with the one closest to Bingham listed first.
    • New Douglas
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Williamson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bingham, with the one closest to Bingham listed first.
    • Vernon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Patoka
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Fairman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Fairman is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairman
    • Kinmundy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bingham, with the one closest to Bingham listed first.
    • Fillmore
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Chapman
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Chapman is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapman
    • Coffeen
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Coalton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Coalton is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 282 people
    • Irving
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Witt
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Witt is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Witt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 833 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Witt <1>
    • Nokomis
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Schram City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Schram City is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schram City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 542 people
    • Wenonah
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Wenonah is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wenonah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
    • Hillsboro
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Donnellson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Taylor Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Shelby County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bingham, with the one closest to Bingham listed first.
    • Oconee
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Herrick
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Cowden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lakewood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Lakewood is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
    • Tower Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Fancher
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Fancher is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancher
    • Mode
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Mode is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mode
    • Shelbyville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bingham, see our County-by-County Page for Bingham.

Cemeteries Near Bingham ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bingham.

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 Bingham - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bingham covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bingham, with the one closest to Bingham listed first.

  • Pope Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Liberty Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Harris Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Isbell Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Little Hickory Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Brackenbush Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Cearlock Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Fox Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Donaldson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Stokes Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Rush Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Cook Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (389 more) ...
    • Hoffman Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Nave Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Poland Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Bingham had a population of 178 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Bingham had a population of 77 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Bingham, with the one closest to Bingham listed first.

  • Bayle City
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Bayle City is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayle City
  • Fillmore
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Chapman
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Chapman is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapman
  • Ramsey
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Vera
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Vera is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vera
  • Dressor
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Dressor is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dressor
  • Coffeen
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Vandalia
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Hagarstown
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Irving
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Mulberry Grove
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Oconee
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Herrick
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Hillsboro
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Donnellson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bingham. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bingham.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bingham ...

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 194 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bingham.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Bingham. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Bingham and those printed in the larger area surrounding Bingham.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Bingham.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Bingham:

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 Bingham, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Bingham) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.