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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Bridgeport. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Bridgeport to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Bridgeport, please Contact Us.

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 Bridgeport (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 Bridgeport. 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 and doctors 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Bridgeport is historic, it would have been located within present day Knox 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 Knox County: Fulton, Henry, Mercer, Peoria, Stark & Warren.

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

  • Knox County     (The home county of Bridgeport)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bridgeport, with the one closest to Bridgeport listed first.
    • Maquon
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • De Long
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • De Long is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Long
    • Gilson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Abingdon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Augustine
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Yates City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Knoxville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Appleton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Appleton is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
    • Knox
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Knox is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knox
    • East Galesburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • East Galesburg is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Galesburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 761 people
    • Dahinda
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Galesburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Williamsfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bridgeport, with the one closest to Bridgeport listed first.
    • London Mills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairview
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Ellisville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Bybee
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Bybee is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bybee
    • Avon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Farmington
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Blyton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Blyton is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blyton
    • Fiatt
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Babylon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Babylon is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babylon
    • Norris
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Brereton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Brereton is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brereton
    • Checkrow
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Checkrow is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Checkrow
    • Canton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Henderson County
    • Raritan
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Raritan is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raritan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
  • Henry County
    • Woodhull
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bridgeport, with the one closest to Bridgeport listed first.
    • Goofy Ridge
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Goofy Ridge is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goofy Ridge
    • Buzzville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Buzzville is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buzzville
  • McDonough County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bridgeport, with the one closest to Bridgeport listed first.
    • Prairie City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Prairie City is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
    • Bushnell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • New Philadelphia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • New Philadelphia is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Philadelphia
    • Bardolph
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Adair
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Good Hope
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Macomb
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Macomb is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macomb
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,206 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Macomb <2>
    • Sciota
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • East Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • East Village is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
    • Lamone Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Lamone Village is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamone Village
    • University Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • University Village is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Village
  • Mercer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bridgeport, with the one closest to Bridgeport listed first.
    • North Henderson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Alexis
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Peoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bridgeport, with the one closest to Bridgeport listed first.
    • Elmwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Trivoli
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Brimfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Elmore
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Elmore is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
    • Laura
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Hanna City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Monica
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Monica is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monica
    • Edwards
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Glasford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Kingston Mines
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Maxwell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Maxwell is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
    • Norwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Norwood is located in Peoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 447 people
    • Princeville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Stark County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bridgeport, with the one closest to Bridgeport listed first.
    • West Jersey
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • West Jersey is located in Stark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Jersey
    • La Fayette
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Tazewell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bridgeport, with the one closest to Bridgeport listed first.
    • Radville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Radville is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radville
    • Talbott
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Talbott is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talbott
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bridgeport, with the one closest to Bridgeport listed first.
    • Surrey
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Surrey is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surrey
    • Berwick
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Cameron
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Youngstown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Youngstown is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngstown
    • Utah
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Utah is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utah
    • Roseville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Monmouth
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Gerlaw
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Shanghai City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Shanghai City is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanghai City
    • Kirkwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Smithshire
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Eleanor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Eleanor is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eleanor

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

Cemeteries Near Bridgeport ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bridgeport.

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

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

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

  • Harper Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • West Midway Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • East Midway Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Lyons Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Thurman Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Elias Bragg Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Ouderkirk Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Housh Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Cook Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Hermon Christian Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Hermon Methodist Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (306 more) ...
    • Coal Creek Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Heartley Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Landon Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)

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.

While we didn't find Bridgeport in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bridgeport.

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

  • London Mills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Rapatee
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Rapatee is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapatee
  • Hermon
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Hermon is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermon
  • Maquon
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • De Long
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • De Long is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Long
  • Ellisville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Fairview
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Douglas
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Douglas is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
  • Gilson
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Abingdon
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Saint Augustine
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Bybee
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Bybee is located in Fulton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bybee
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Avon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Knoxville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Yates City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Bridgeport ...

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 176 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bridgeport.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bridgeport, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bridgeport.

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 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 Bridgeport:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Bridgeport, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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- Bridgeport) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.