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 Bluff Junction (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 Bluff Junction. 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.
Name Variations for Bluff Junction ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Bluff Junction: Bluff Jct. (or less commonly used: Bluff Jctn.)
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Bluff Junction is located in Madison 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 Madison County: Bond, Clinton, Jersey, Macoupin, Montgomery, Saint Clair, Saint Charles (MO), Saint Louis City (MO) & Saint Louis (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Bluff Junction. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bluff Junction:
- Madison County (The home county of Bluff Junction)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bluff Junction, with the one closest to Bluff Junction listed first.
- Edwardsville
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Poag
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Poag is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poag
- Glen Carbon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Roxana
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- South Roxana
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- South Roxana is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Roxana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,986 people
- Fruit
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Fruit is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruit
- Wood River
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Maryville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Brooks
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Brooks is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
- Mitchell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mitchell is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
- Hartford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Bethalto
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cottage Hills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cottage Hills is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Hills
- Bond County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bluff Junction, with the one closest to Bluff Junction listed first.
- Pierron
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Old Ripley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Old Ripley is located in Bond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Ripley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Pocahontas
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Sorento
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Reno
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Reno is located in Bond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
- Calhoun County
- Deer Plain
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Deer Plain is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Plain
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bluff Junction, with the one closest to Bluff Junction listed first.
- Trenton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Aviston
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Rose
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Saint Rose is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Rose
- New Baden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Albers
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Breese
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Damiansville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Damiansville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damiansville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 484 people
- New Memphis
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Germantown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jersey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bluff Junction, with the one closest to Bluff Junction listed first.
- Delhi
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Delhi is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
- Elsah
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Chautauqua
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Chautauqua is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
- Dow
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- McClusky
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- McClusky is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClusky
- Fidelity
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Grafton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jerseyville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Otterville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Otterville is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otterville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Macoupin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bluff Junction, with the one closest to Bluff Junction listed first.
- Bunker Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Staunton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Brighton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Miles Station
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Miles Station is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miles Station
- Wilsonville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Dorchester
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Dorchester is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Royal Lakes
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Royal Lakes is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 185 people
- Royal Lakes has also been known as:
- Royal Lakes village
- Sawyerville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Piasa
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Shipman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Benld
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Clare
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Clare is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Clare
- Population from the 2020 Census: 262 people
- White City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- White City is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 230 people
- Monroe County
- Columbia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bluff Junction, with the one closest to Bluff Junction listed first.
- Walshville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Panama
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Donnellson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Litchfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bluff Junction, with the one closest to Bluff Junction listed first.
- Caseyville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Fairmont City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fairmont City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,439 people
- Washington Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Washington Park is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,831 people
- Bunkum
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Bunkum is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunkum
- Fairview Heights
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- French Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- French Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Village
- Petersburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Petersburg is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Brooklyn
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Brooklyn is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 687 people
- East Saint Louis
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- National City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- O'Fallon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Lebanon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Alorton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Charles County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bluff Junction, with the one closest to Bluff Junction listed first.
- West Alton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Portage Des Sioux
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Gardnerville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Gardnerville is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardnerville
- Saint Charles
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Saint Louis City (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bluff Junction, with the one closest to Bluff Junction listed first.
- Baden
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Baden is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
- Saint Louis
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cheltenham
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cheltenham is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheltenham
- Tower Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Tower Grove is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Grove
- University City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- University City is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34,049 people
- Carondelet
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- 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 Bluff Junction, with the one closest to Bluff Junction listed first.
- Glasgow Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Glasgow Village is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow Village
- Spanish Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Spanish Lake is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spanish Lake
- Riverview
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Riverview is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,821 people
- Bellefontaine Neighbors
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Bellefontaine Neighbors is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefontaine Neighbors
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,297 people
- Castle Point
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Castle Point is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Point
- Moline Acres
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Moline Acres is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moline Acres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,339 people
- Black Jack
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Black Jack is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Jack
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,921 people
- Flordell Hills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Flordell Hills is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flordell Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 800 people
- Jennings
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jennings is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,644 people
- Dellwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Dellwood is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,994 people
- Country Club Hills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Country Club Hills is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,245 people
- Northwoods
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Northwoods is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwoods
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,061 people
- Ferguson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Ferguson is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,457 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bluff Junction, see our County-by-County Page for Bluff Junction.
Cemeteries Near Bluff Junction ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bluff Junction.
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 Bluff Junction - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bluff Junction covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bluff Junction, with the one closest to Bluff Junction listed first.
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Grover - Gifford Family Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Valley View Gardens Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Wolf Family Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Lusk Family Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- St. Marys Catholic Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- St. Boniface Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Boniface Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Boniface Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Edwardsville.
- The St. Boniface Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Boniface Catholic Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #107845 <2>
- Ballard Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sanders Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- St. Pauls UCC Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Calvary Catholic Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Sunset Hills Memorial Estates Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (490 more) ...
- Frickenstein Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- St. James Association Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Eberhart Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 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>
While we didn't find Bluff Junction in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bluff Junction.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bluff Junction, with the one closest to Bluff Junction listed first.
- Edwardsville
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Poag
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Poag is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poag
- Wanda
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Wanda is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wanda
- Brooks
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Brooks is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
- Mitchell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mitchell is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
- Fruit
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Fruit is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruit
- Carpenter
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Carpenter is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter
- Stallings
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Stallings is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stallings
- Moro
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Bethalto
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Troy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Nameoki
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Nameoki is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nameoki
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Collinsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Prairietown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Prairietown is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairietown
- Dorsey
(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 Bluff Junction. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bluff Junction.
Newspapers Published in Bluff Junction ...
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 592 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bluff Junction.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bluff Junction, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bluff Junction.
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 Bluff Junction:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Madison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bond County
- Calhoun County
- Clinton County
- Jersey County
- Macoupin County
- Monroe County
- Montgomery County
- Saint Clair County
- Saint Charles County
- Saint Louis City
- Saint Louis 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 Bluff Junction, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bluff Junction) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |