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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

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

We've added Columbus to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Columbus, 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 Columbus (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 Columbus. 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 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Columbus is historic, it would have been located within present day Scott 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 Scott County: Greene, Morgan & Pike.

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

  • Scott County     (The home county of Columbus)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Naples
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Bluffs
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Oxville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Oxville is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxville
    • Exeter
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Exeter is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
    • Winchester
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Alsey
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Glasgow
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Glasgow is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
    • Manchester
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Adams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Kellerville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Kellerville is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellerville
    • Beverly
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Beverly is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
    • Clayton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Liberty
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Blacks
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Blacks is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blacks
    • Camp Point
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Plainville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Versailles
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Gilbirds
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Gilbirds is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbirds
    • Cooperstown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Cooperstown is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooperstown
    • Hersman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Hersman is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hersman
    • Mount Sterling
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Ripley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Ripley is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
    • Mound Station
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Mound Station is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound Station
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Timewell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Cliffdale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Cliffdale is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffdale
    • Belleview
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Belleview is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Arenzville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Hagener
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Hagener is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagener
    • Beardstown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Bluff Springs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Oak Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Oak Grove is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Jules
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jules is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jules
    • Old Princeton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Old Princeton is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Princeton
    • Virginia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Burlingame
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Burlingame is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
    • Philadelphia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Philadelphia is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philadelphia
    • Gurney ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Gurney is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gurney
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Patterson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Wilmington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Wilmington is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
    • Hillview
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Roodhouse
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • White Hall
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Walkerville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Walkerville is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkerville
    • Belltown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Belltown is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown
  • Morgan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Meredosia
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Morgan City ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Morgan City is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan City
    • Chapin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Concord
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Lynnville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Lynnville is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 113 people
    • Arcadia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Arcadia is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
    • Jacksonville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • South Jacksonville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • South Jacksonville is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Jacksonville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,075 people
    • Literberry
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Murrayville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Woodson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Arnold
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Arnold is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
  • Pike County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Chambersburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Valley City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Valley City is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14 people
    • Griggsville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Perry
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Florence
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Florence is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
    • Detroit
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Detroit is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Detroit
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
    • Milton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • New Salem
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • New Salem is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
    • Pittsfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Time
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Time is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Time
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23 people
    • Bedford
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Baylis
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Schuyler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Frederick
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Rushville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Camden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Browning
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Wayland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Wayland is located in Schuyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
    • Bader
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Bader is located in Schuyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bader

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

Cemeteries Near Columbus ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Columbus.

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

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

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

  • Collins Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Naples Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Anderson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Sears Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Batley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Green Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Brown Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Ham Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Valley City Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Oxville Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • McCaleb Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (569 more) ...
    • Hill - Crest Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Mitchell Family Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Baird Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 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.

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

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

  • Naples
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Bluffs
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Valley City
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Valley City is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley City
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 14 people
  • Oxville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Oxville is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxville
  • Chambersburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Meredosia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Exeter
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Exeter is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeter
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
  • Griggsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Perry
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Versailles
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Florence
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Florence is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
  • Morgan City ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Morgan City is located in Morgan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan City
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Bethel
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Bethel is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
    • Detroit
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Detroit is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Detroit
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
    • Riggston
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Riggston is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riggston

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

Newspapers Published in Columbus ...

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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Columbus.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Columbus, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Columbus.

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 Columbus:

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 Columbus, 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>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.
<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- Columbus) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.