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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 Clank (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 Clank. 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 doctors and 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.

Clank is located in Alexander 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 Alexander County: Pulaski, Union, Ballard (KY), Cape Girardeau (MO), Mississippi (MO) & Scott (MO).

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

  • Alexander County     (The home county of Clank)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clank, with the one closest to Clank listed first.
    • Diswood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Diswood is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diswood
    • Olive Branch
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Hodges Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Hodges Park is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges Park
    • Unity
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Tamms
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Tamms is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamms
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 449 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tamms <1>
    • Miller City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Cache
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Frog City ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Frog City is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog City
    • Thebes
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Thebes is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thebes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
    • Elco
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • McClure
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • East Cape Girardeau
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • East Cape Girardeau is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cape Girardeau
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clank, with the one closest to Clank listed first.
    • Makanda
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Pomona
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clank, with the one closest to Clank listed first.
    • Cypress
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Belknap
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Bender ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Bender is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bender
    • Buncombe
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Vienna
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Massac County
    • Joppa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Pulaski County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clank, with the one closest to Clank listed first.
    • Pulaski
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Villa Ridge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Villa Ridge is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Ridge
    • Mounds
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Mounds is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mounds
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
    • Ullin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Mound City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Olmsted
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Perks
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Grand Chain
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • New Grand Chain
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
    • Karnak
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clank, with the one closest to Clank listed first.
    • Mill Creek
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Mill Creek is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
    • Reynoldsville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Reynoldsville is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
    • Dongola
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Dutch Mills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Dutch Mills is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Mills
    • Jonesboro
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Anna
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Anna is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anna
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,059 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Anna <1>
    • Wolf Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Mount Pleasant
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
    • Cobden
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Alto Pass
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Water Valley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Water Valley is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
    • Lick Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Lick Creek is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
  • Ballard County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clank, with the one closest to Clank listed first.
    • Barlow
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Barlow is located in Ballard County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 628 people
    • La Center
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Wickliffe
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bandana
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Bandana is located in Ballard County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandana
    • Kevil
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Kevil is located in Ballard County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kevil
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kevil <1>
    • Blandville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Blandville is located in Ballard County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blandville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
    • Ceredo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Ceredo is located in Ballard County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceredo
    • Gage
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Gage is located in Ballard County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gage
  • Carlisle County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clank, with the one closest to Clank listed first.
    • Bardwell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Cunningham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • McCracken County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clank, with the one closest to Clank listed first.
    • Ragland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Ragland is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragland
    • Woodville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Woodville is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
    • Cimota City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Cimota City is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cimota City
    • West Future City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • West Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Future City
    • Future City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Future City
    • Grahamville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Grahamville is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahamville
  • Cape Girardeau County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clank, with the one closest to Clank listed first.
    • Cape Girardeau
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Dutchtown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Dutchtown is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchtown
      • Estimated population in 2018: 94 people
    • Gordonville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jackson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jackson is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,699 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jackson <1>
    • Delta
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Delta is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 421 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Delta <1>
    • Leemon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Leemon is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemon
    • Allenville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Allenville is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
    • Cliff ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Cliff is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliff
    • Randles
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Randles is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randles
    • Whitewater
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Whitewater is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitewater
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
    • Pocahontas
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Pocahontas is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pocahontas <1>
    • Crump
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Crump is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crump
  • Mississippi County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clank, with the one closest to Clank listed first.
    • Greenfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Greenfield is located in Mississippi County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
    • Wyatt
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Wyatt is located in Mississippi County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
    • Charleston
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Charleston is located in Mississippi County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,015 people
    • Wilson City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Wilson City is located in Mississippi County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
    • Bertrand
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Bertrand is located in Mississippi County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertrand
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 747 people
    • Anniston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Anniston is located in Mississippi County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anniston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
    • Whiting
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Whiting is located in Mississippi County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiting
    • East Prairie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Thirtyfour Corner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Thirtyfour Corner is located in Mississippi County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thirtyfour Corner
  • New Madrid County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clank, with the one closest to Clank listed first.
    • Sikeston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Sikeston is located in New Madrid County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sikeston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,968 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sikeston <1>
    • Morehouse
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Morehouse is located in New Madrid County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morehouse
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 844 people
  • Scott County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clank, with the one closest to Clank listed first.
    • Commerce
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Scott City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Kelso
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Kelso is located in Scott County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelso
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 589 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kelso <1>
    • Benton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Benton is located in Scott County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 880 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Benton <1>
    • Lambert
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Lambert is located in Scott County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 34 people
    • New Hamburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • New Hamburg is located in Scott County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hamburg
    • Diehlstadt
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Diehlstadt is located in Scott County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diehlstadt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
    • Blodgett
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Blodgett is located in Scott County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blodgett
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
    • Morley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Morley is located in Scott County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
    • Chaffee
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Chaffee is located in Scott County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaffee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,901 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chaffee <1>
    • Haywood City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Haywood City is located in Scott County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
    • Oran
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Oran is located in Scott County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oran
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oran <1>
  • Stoddard County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clank, with the one closest to Clank listed first.
    • Painton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Painton is located in Stoddard County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Painton
    • Bell City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bell City is located in Stoddard County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people

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

Cemeteries Near Clank ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Clank.

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

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

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

  • Hargis Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Olive Branch Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Richwood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Childers Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Twente Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Miller Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Hodges Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Uninty Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • McCrite Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Miller Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Solomon Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (349 more) ...
    • Walford Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Honey Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Thompson Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)

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.<2>

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

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

  • Olive Branch
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Unity
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Hodges Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hodges Park is located in Alexander County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges Park
  • Sandusky
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Sandusky is located in Alexander County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
  • Commerce
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Pulaski
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Willard
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Willard is located in Alexander County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
  • Villa Ridge
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Villa Ridge is located in Pulaski County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Ridge
  • Thebes
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Thebes is located in Alexander County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thebes
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
  • Mounds
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Mounds is located in Pulaski County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mounds
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
  • Elco
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Ullin
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • McClure
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Mound City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • America
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • America is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for America

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

Newspapers Published in Clank ...

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 126 newspapers that have been published in the area around Clank.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Clank, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Clank.

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 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 Clank:

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>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 Clank, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Clank) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.