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 Brookport (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 Brookport. 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.
Brookport is located in Massac 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 Massac County: Johnson, Pope, Pulaski, Livingston (KY) & McCracken (KY).
Below are the counties that are near Brookport. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Brookport:
- Massac County (The home county of Brookport)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookport, with the one closest to Brookport listed first.
- Shady Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Shady Grove is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Unionville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Unionville is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- Massac City
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Massac City is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massac City
- Metropolis
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Joppa
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Big Bay
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Big Bay is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bay
- New Columbia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- New Columbia is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Columbia
- Hardin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookport, with the one closest to Brookport listed first.
- Mineral City ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Mineral City is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral City
- Shetlerville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Shetlerville is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shetlerville
- Rosiclare
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Elizabethtown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookport, with the one closest to Brookport listed first.
- Reevesville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Reevesville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reevesville
- Grantsburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Wartrace
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wartrace is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartrace
- Belknap
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bender ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bender is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bender
- Simpson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Vienna
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cypress
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Reynoldsburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Reynoldsburg is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsburg
- Ozark
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Buncombe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pope County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookport, with the one closest to Brookport listed first.
- Hamletsburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Bay City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bay City is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay City
- Dixon Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Dixon Springs is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon Springs
- Golconda
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Rock
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Rock is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
- Glendale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Glendale is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Eddyville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Lusk
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Lusk is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lusk
- Leisure City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Leisure City is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure City
- Hartsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Hartsville is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsville
- McCormick
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- McCormick is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCormick
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookport, with the one closest to Brookport listed first.
- Karnak
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Grand Chain
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- New Grand Chain
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Olmsted
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Perks
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mound City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Ballard County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookport, with the one closest to Brookport listed first.
- Ceredo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ceredo is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceredo
- Kevil
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Lovelaceville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lovelaceville is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovelaceville
- Gage
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gage is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gage
- Bandana
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Bandana is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandana
- La Center
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Blandville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Blandville is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blandville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
- Barlow
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Barlow is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 628 people
- Wickliffe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Carlisle County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookport, with the one closest to Brookport listed first.
- Cunningham
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Kirbyton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Kirbyton is located in Carlisle County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbyton
- Bardwell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Milburn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Milburn is located in Carlisle County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburn
- Crittenden County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookport, with the one closest to Brookport listed first.
- Dycusburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Dycusburg is located in Crittenden County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dycusburg
- Population from the 2010 Census: 26 people
- Sheridan
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sheridan is located in Crittenden County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
- Tolu
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tolu is located in Crittenden County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolu
- Graves County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookport, with the one closest to Brookport listed first.
- Melber
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Melber is located in Graves County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melber
- Symsonia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Boaz
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- West Viola
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- West Viola is located in Graves County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Viola
- Lowes
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Lowes is located in Graves County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowes
- Pottsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Pottsville is located in Graves County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottsville
- Westplains
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Westplains is located in Graves County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westplains
- Hickory
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Hickory is located in Graves County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
- Fancy Farm
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Fancy Farm is located in Graves County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Farm
- Mayfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Pryorsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Pryorsburg is located in Graves County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pryorsburg
- Livingston County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookport, with the one closest to Brookport listed first.
- Ledbetter
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Smithland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Burna
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Burna is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burna
- Hampton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hampton is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
- Pinckneyville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Pinckneyville is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinckneyville
- Tiline
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Tiline is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiline
- Lake City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Lake City is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
- Lola
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lola is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lola
- Grand Rivers
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Carrsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Carrsville is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
- Salem
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Salem is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 717 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Salem <1>
- Lyon County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookport, with the one closest to Brookport listed first.
- Kuttawa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Carmack
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Carmack is located in Lyon County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmack
- Eddyville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Marshall County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookport, with the one closest to Brookport listed first.
- Sharpe
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sharpe is located in Marshall County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpe
- Calvert City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Calvert City is located in Marshall County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvert City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,509 people
- Calvert City has also been known as:
- Calvert
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Calvert City <1>
- Gilbertsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Scale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Scale is located in Marshall County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scale
- Tatumsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Tatumsville is located in Marshall County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tatumsville
- Benton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dogtown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dogtown is located in Marshall County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogtown
- Fairdealing
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fairdealing is located in Marshall County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdealing
- Hardin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Olive
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Olive is located in Marshall County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olive
- McCracken County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookport, with the one closest to Brookport listed first.
- Paducah
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Hendron
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Hendron is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendron
- Lone Oak
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Lone Oak is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Oak
- Oakdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Oakdale is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
- West Paducah
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Grahamville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Grahamville is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahamville
- Krebs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Krebs is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krebs
- Reidland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Reidland is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reidland
- Massac
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Massac is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massac
- Camelia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Camelia is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelia
- Future City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Future City
- West Future City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- West Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Future City
- Cimota City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Cimota City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cimota City
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Brookport, see our County-by-County Page for Brookport.
Cemeteries Near Brookport ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brookport.
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 Brookport - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Brookport covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Brookport, with the one closest to Brookport listed first.
- Bethel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Allard Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Pell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Maplelawn Park Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplelawn Park Cemetery
- The Maplelawn Park Cemetery has also been known as:
- Maplelawn Cemetery
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Brookport Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- McCormick Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bigley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Murray Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Stanley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Johnson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Kingston Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (520 more) ...
- Douglas Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Mt. Kenton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
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 Brookport in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Brookport.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Brookport, with the one closest to Brookport listed first.
- Paducah
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Unionville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Unionville is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- Metropolis
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Epperson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Epperson is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epperson
- Grahamville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Grahamville is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahamville
- Massac
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Massac is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massac
- New Liberty
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- New Liberty is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Liberty
- Hamletsburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Rosebud
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Rosebud is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosebud
- Round Knob
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Round Knob is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Knob
- Oaks
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Oaks is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaks
- Birdsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Birdsville is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdsville
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Bay City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bay City is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay City
- Temple Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Temple Hill is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple Hill
- Little Cypress
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Little Cypress is located in Marshall County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Cypress
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Brookport. See our List of 1890's Communities around Brookport.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Brookport ...
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 114 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brookport.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Brookport. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Brookport and those printed in the larger area surrounding Brookport.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4> of Brookport.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Brookport:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Massac County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hardin County
- Johnson County
- Pope County
- Pulaski County
- Ballard County
- Carlisle County
- Crittenden County
- Graves County
- Livingston County
- Lyon County
- Marshall County
- McCracken 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 Brookport, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Brookport) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |