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 Castle 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 Castle 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 Castle 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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Castle Junction: Castle Jct. (or less commonly used: Castle Jctn.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Castle Junction. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Castle Junction.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.
Castle Junction is located in Rock Island 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 Rock Island County: Clinton (IA), Louisa (IA), Muscatine (IA), Scott (IA), Henry, Mercer & Whiteside.
Below are the counties that are near Castle Junction. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Castle Junction:
- Rock Island County (The home county of Castle Junction)
- The following are listed by their distance from Castle Junction, with the one closest to Castle Junction listed first.
- Oak Grove
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Oak Grove is located in Rock Island County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 585 people
- Coyne Center
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Coyne Center is located in Rock Island County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coyne Center
- Milan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Taylor Ridge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Rock Island
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Reynolds
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coal Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Moline
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Andalusia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Edgington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Edgington is located in Rock Island County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgington
- East Moline
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- East Moline is located in Rock Island County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Moline
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,473 people
- Silvis
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Castle Junction, with the one closest to Castle Junction listed first.
- Orion
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Briar Bluff
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Briar Bluff is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briar Bluff
- Colona
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Green Rock
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Green Rock is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Rock
- Lynn Center
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ophiem
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ophiem is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ophiem
- Morristown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Morristown is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morristown
- Osco
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Cleveland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cleveland is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Dayton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dayton is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
- Andover
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Alpha
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Knox County
- The following are listed by their distance from Castle Junction, with the one closest to Castle Junction listed first.
- Rio
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Henderson Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Henderson Grove is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson Grove
- Henderson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Altona
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Oneida
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Wataga
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mercer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Castle Junction, with the one closest to Castle Junction listed first.
- Preemption
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Sherrard
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Matherville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Griffin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Griffin is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin
- Shale City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Shale City is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shale City
- Viola
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Marston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Marston is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marston
- Gilchrist
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Gilchrist is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilchrist
- New Windsor
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- New Windsor is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Windsor
- Windsor
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Windsor is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 760 people
- Aledo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Burgess
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Burgess is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burgess
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Castle Junction, with the one closest to Castle Junction listed first.
- Shanghai City
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Shanghai City is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanghai City
- Little York
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Eleanor
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Eleanor is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eleanor
- Gerlaw
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Utah
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Utah is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utah
- Cedar County (IA)
- Sunbury
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sunbury is located in Cedar County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunbury
- Clinton County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Castle Junction, with the one closest to Castle Junction listed first.
- Folletts
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Folletts is located in Clinton County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folletts
- Shaffton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Shaffton is located in Clinton County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaffton
- De Witt
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Grand Mound
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Low Moor
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Muscatine County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Castle Junction, with the one closest to Castle Junction listed first.
- Midway Beach
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Midway Beach is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway Beach
- Pine Mills ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Pine Mills is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Mills
- Pleasant Prairie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Prairie is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Prairie
- Fairport
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Fairport is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairport
- Stockton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Stockton is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
- Muscatine
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- South Towne Park
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- South Towne Park is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Towne Park
- Wilton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wilton is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,800 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilton <1>
- Moscow
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Moscow is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Fruitland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Fruitland is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
- Scott County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Castle Junction, with the one closest to Castle Junction listed first.
- Bettendorf
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Davenport
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Buffalo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Riverdale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Riverdale is located in Scott County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 398 people
- Panorama Park
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Panorama Park is located in Scott County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panorama Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 331 people
- Blue Grass
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Eldridge
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Le Claire
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Walcott
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Maysville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Maysville is located in Scott County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
- Hickory Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hickory Grove is located in Scott County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Castle Junction, see our County-by-County Page for Castle Junction.
Cemeteries Near Castle Junction ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Castle 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 Castle Junction - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Castle Junction covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Castle Junction, with the one closest to Castle Junction listed first.
- Chapel Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Woods Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Schoening Family Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Dickson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Preemption Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Friends Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Beulah Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Oakleaf Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Rock Island County Fome Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Chippiannock Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Reynolds Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (273 more) ...
- German Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Sherrard Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Quaker Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
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 Castle Junction in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Castle Junction.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Castle Junction, with the one closest to Castle Junction listed first.
- Milan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Taylor Ridge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Preemption
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Reynolds
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rock Island
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Coal Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cable
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cable is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cable
- Sunny Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Sunny Hill is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Hill
- Moline
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Andalusia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Hamlet
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hamlet is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
- Jamestown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jamestown is located in Scott County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Edgington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Edgington is located in Rock Island County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgington
- Swedona
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Swedona is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedona
- Orion
(10 miles [16.1 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 Castle Junction. See our List of 1890's Communities around Castle Junction.
Newspapers Published in Castle 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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around Castle Junction.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Castle Junction, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Castle Junction.
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 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 Castle Junction:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Rock Island County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Henry County
- Knox County
- Mercer County
- Warren County
- Cedar County
- Clinton County
- Muscatine County
- Scott 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 Castle 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Castle Junction) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |