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 Briar Hill (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 Briar Hill. 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 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.
Briar Hill is located in Saint Clair 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 Saint Clair County: Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, Washington, Saint Louis City (MO) & Saint Louis (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Briar Hill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Briar Hill:
- Saint Clair County (The home county of Briar Hill)
- The following are listed by their distance from Briar Hill, with the one closest to Briar Hill listed first.
- French Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- French Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Village
- Gartside
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Gartside is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gartside
- Alorton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Bunkum
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Bunkum is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunkum
- Summit
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Summit is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Centreville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Centreville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,844 people
- Fairview Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Swansea
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Washington Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Washington Park is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,831 people
- Caseyville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fairmont City
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Fairmont City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,439 people
- East Saint Louis
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Belleville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Bond County
- Pierron
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Briar Hill, with the one closest to Briar Hill listed first.
- New Baden
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Trenton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- New Memphis
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Albers
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Aviston
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Damiansville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Damiansville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damiansville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 484 people
- Germantown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Saint Rose
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Saint Rose is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Rose
- Breese
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Jersey County
- Elsah
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Briar Hill, with the one closest to Briar Hill listed first.
- Collinsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Madison
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Venice
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Granite City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Newport
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Newport is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Pontoon Beach
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Nameoki
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Nameoki is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nameoki
- Maryville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Glen Carbon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Mitchell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Mitchell is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
- Brooks
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Brooks is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
- Troy
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Poag
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Poag is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poag
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Briar Hill, with the one closest to Briar Hill listed first.
- Columbia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Waterloo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Hecker
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Foster Pond ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Foster Pond is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Pond
- Wartburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Wartburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartburg
- Burksville Station
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Burksville Station is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville Station
- Burksville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Burksville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville
- Valmeyer
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Madonnaville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Madonnaville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madonnaville
- Monroe City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Monroe City is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe City
- Maeystown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Chalfin Bridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Chalfin Bridge is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalfin Bridge
- Fults
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Briar Hill, with the one closest to Briar Hill listed first.
- Red Bud
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Baldwin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ruma
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Ruma is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Briar Hill, with the one closest to Briar Hill listed first.
- Venedy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Venedy is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venedy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
- Caspars
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Caspars is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caspars
- Stone Church
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Stone Church is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Church
- Okawville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Jefferson County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Briar Hill, with the one closest to Briar Hill listed first.
- Arnold
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Arnold is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,145 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arnold <1>
- Flamm City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Flamm City is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flamm City
- Maxville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Maxville is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxville
- Kimmswick
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Imperial
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Barnhart
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Murphy
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Murphy is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy
- Parkdale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Parkdale is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 162 people
- Pevely
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- 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>
- High Ridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Peaceful Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Peaceful Village is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaceful Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Otto
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Otto is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otto
- Herculaneum
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Charles County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Briar Hill, with the one closest to Briar Hill listed first.
- West Alton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Portage Des Sioux
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Gardnerville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gardnerville is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardnerville
- Saint Charles
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Harvester
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Louis City (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Briar Hill, with the one closest to Briar Hill listed first.
- Saint Louis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Carondelet
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Carondelet is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carondelet
- Tower Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Tower Grove is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Grove
- Cheltenham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Cheltenham is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheltenham
- Baden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Baden is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
- University City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Saint Louis County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Briar Hill, with the one closest to Briar Hill listed first.
- Ivory
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Ivory is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivory
- Bella Villa
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Bella Villa is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bella Villa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 721 people
- Lemay
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Lemay is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemay
- Mackenzie
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Mackenzie is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackenzie
- Estimated population in 2018: 131 people
- Saint George
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Saint George is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint George
- Estimated population in 2011: 1,336 people
- Wilbur Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Wilbur Park is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbur Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
- Wydown Skinker
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Wydown Skinker is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wydown Skinker
- Beverly Hills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Beverly Hills is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 551 people
- Flordell Hills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Flordell Hills is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flordell Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 800 people
- Glasgow Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Glasgow Village is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow Village
- Hillsdale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hillsdale is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,536 people
- Jennings
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jennings is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,644 people
- Affton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Affton is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Affton
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Briar Hill, see our County-by-County Page for Briar Hill.
Cemeteries Near Briar Hill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Briar Hill.
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 Briar Hill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Briar Hill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Briar Hill, with the one closest to Briar Hill listed first.
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- St. Adalbert Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- St. Clair Memorial Park
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Clair Memorial Park
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Clair Memorial Park is a large cemetery that is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the west of Fairview Heights.
- The St. Clair Memorial Park has also been known as:
- French Village Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #107853 <2>
- Booker T Washington Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- St. George Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Valhalla Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Old St. Clair County Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Badgley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Kampmeyer Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (472 more) ...
- Lakeview Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Concordia Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Messenger Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Briar Hill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Briar Hill.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Briar Hill, with the one closest to Briar Hill listed first.
- Ogles
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Ogles is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogles
- Birkner
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Birkner is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birkner
- Gartside
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Gartside is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gartside
- French Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- French Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Village
- Summit
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Summit is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Centreville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Centreville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,844 people
- Caseyville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Tillman
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Tillman is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillman
- Imbs
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Imbs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imbs
- Belleville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Furman
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Furman is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furman
- East Saint Louis
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Cahokia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Falling Spring
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Falling Spring is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Spring
- Millstadt
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Briar Hill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Briar Hill.
Newspapers Published in Briar Hill ...
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 606 newspapers that have been published in the area around Briar Hill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Briar Hill, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Briar Hill.
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 Briar Hill:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Saint Clair County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bond County
- Clinton County
- Jersey County
- Madison County
- Monroe County
- Randolph County
- Washington County
- Jefferson 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Briar Hill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Briar Hill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |