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 Brooklyn (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 Brooklyn. 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.
Brooklyn 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 Brooklyn. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Brooklyn:
- Saint Clair County (The home county of Brooklyn)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooklyn, with the one closest to Brooklyn listed first.
- National City
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- East Saint Louis
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fairmont City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- 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
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Washington Park is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,831 people
- Sauget
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Cahokia
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Alorton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Centreville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Centreville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,844 people
- Bunkum
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bunkum is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunkum
- Caseyville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- French Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- French Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Village
- Falling Spring
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Falling Spring is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Spring
- Dupo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Dupo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,845 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dupo <1>
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooklyn, with the one closest to Brooklyn listed first.
- Deer Plain
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Deer Plain is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Plain
- Golden Eagle
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Brussels
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooklyn, with the one closest to Brooklyn listed first.
- New Baden
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Trenton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- New Memphis
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Albers
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Aviston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Damiansville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Damiansville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damiansville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 484 people
- Jersey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooklyn, with the one closest to Brooklyn listed first.
- Elsah
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Chautauqua
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Chautauqua is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
- Dow
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Grafton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Delhi
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Delhi is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
- McClusky
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- McClusky is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClusky
- Otterville
(30 miles [48.3 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 Brooklyn, with the one closest to Brooklyn listed first.
- Brighton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Miles Station
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Miles Station is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miles Station
- Bunker Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooklyn, with the one closest to Brooklyn listed first.
- Venice
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Madison
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Newport
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Newport is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Granite City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Nameoki
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Nameoki is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nameoki
- Pontoon Beach
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mitchell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mitchell is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
- Collinsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Brooks
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Brooks is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
- Hartford
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Glen Carbon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Maryville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Poag
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Poag is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poag
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooklyn, with the one closest to Brooklyn listed first.
- Columbia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Waterloo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Foster Pond ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Foster Pond is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Pond
- Valmeyer
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Hecker
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Wartburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Wartburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartburg
- Burksville Station
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Burksville Station is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville Station
- Burksville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Burksville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville
- Madonnaville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Madonnaville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madonnaville
- Monroe City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Monroe City is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe City
- Maeystown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Jefferson County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooklyn, with the one closest to Brooklyn 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
- Murphy
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Murphy is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy
- Imperial
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kimmswick
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Parkdale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Parkdale is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 162 people
- High Ridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Peaceful Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Peaceful Village is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaceful Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Barnhart
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Byrnes Mill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Otto
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Otto is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otto
- House Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Charles County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooklyn, with the one closest to Brooklyn listed first.
- West Alton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Portage Des Sioux
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Charles
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Gardnerville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gardnerville is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardnerville
- Harvester
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Saint Peters
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Weldon Spring
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- All Saints Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- All Saints Village is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for All Saints Village
- Cottleville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Weldon Spring Heights
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Weldon Spring Heights is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weldon Spring Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
- O'Fallon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- O'Fallon is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Fallon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 89,769 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for O'Fallon <1>
- Saint Louis City (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooklyn, with the one closest to Brooklyn listed first.
- Saint Louis
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Baden
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Baden is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
- Tower Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Tower Grove is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Grove
- Cheltenham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Cheltenham is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheltenham
- Carondelet
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Carondelet is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carondelet
- University City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- 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 Brooklyn, with the one closest to Brooklyn listed first.
- Riverview
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Riverview is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,821 people
- Flordell Hills
(6 miles [9.7 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
- Jennings
(6 miles [9.7 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
- Pine Lawn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Lawn is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lawn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,579 people
- Uplands Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Uplands Park is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uplands Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
- Hillsdale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Hillsdale is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,536 people
- Velda Village Hills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Velda Village Hills is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Velda Village Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,026 people
- Glasgow Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Glasgow Village is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow Village
- Bellefontaine Neighbors
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Beverly Hills
(7 miles [11.3 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
- Country Club Hills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Glen Echo Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Glen Echo Park is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Echo Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
- Moline Acres
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- 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
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Brooklyn, see our County-by-County Page for Brooklyn.
Cemeteries Near Brooklyn ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brooklyn.
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 Brooklyn - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Brooklyn covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Brooklyn, with the one closest to Brooklyn listed first.
- Brooklyn Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- St. John UCC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Kirkpatrick Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- New Methodist Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Johns Cemetery
- The St. Johns Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. John United Church of Christ Cemetery
- St. John United Church of Christ Old Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #107901 <2>
- St. Johns UCC Old Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Calvary Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bellefontaine Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Western Lutheran Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Emmert Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Holy Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- New Bethlehem Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bethlehem Cemetery
- The New Bethlehem Cemetery has also been known as:
- Bethlehem Memorial Park Cemetery
- New Bethlehem Memorial Park Cemetery
- New Bethlehem Memorial
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #164041 <2>
- Continue List (474 more) ...
- Frieden Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Odd Fellows 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>
While we didn't find Brooklyn in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Brooklyn.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Brooklyn, with the one closest to Brooklyn listed first.
- Venice
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Saint Louis
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- East Saint Louis
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Newport
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Newport is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Madison
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Tower Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Tower Grove is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Grove
- Cahokia
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Nameoki
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Nameoki is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nameoki
- Baden
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Baden is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
- Cheltenham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Cheltenham is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheltenham
- Gratiot
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Gratiot is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gratiot
- Centreville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Centreville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,844 people
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Jennings
(6 miles [9.7 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
- Hillsdale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Hillsdale is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,536 people
- Benton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Benton is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Brooklyn. See our List of 1890's Communities around Brooklyn.
Newspapers Published in Brooklyn ...
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 640 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brooklyn.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Brooklyn, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Brooklyn.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Brooklyn:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Saint Clair County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Clinton County
- Jersey County
- Macoupin County
- Madison County
- Monroe 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> | 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 Brooklyn, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Brooklyn) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |