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 Creal Springs (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 Creal Springs. 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 Creal Springs ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Creal Springs: Creal Spgs. (or less commonly used: Creal Spngs. or Creal Sprngs.)
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Creal Springs is located in Williamson 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 Williamson County: Franklin, Jackson, Johnson, Pope, Saline & Union.
Below are the counties that are near Creal Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Creal Springs:
- Williamson County (The home county of Creal Springs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Creal Springs, with the one closest to Creal Springs listed first.
- Lake Crest
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Lake Crest is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Crest
- Marion
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Pittsburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Spillertown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Spillertown is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spillertown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Whiteash
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Whiteash is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteash
- Estimated population in 2014: 240 people
- Corinth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Corinth is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Johnston City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Energy
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hartford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hartford is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
- Crainville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Crainville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crainville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,419 people
- Carterville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Herrin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Creal Springs, with the one closest to Creal Springs listed first.
- Fitt's Hill ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Fitt's Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitt's Hill
- Deering City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Deering City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deering City
- Thompsonville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- West Frankfort
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- West Frankfort is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Frankfort
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,733 people
- Plumfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Plumfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
- Orient
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Cambon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cambon is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambon
- Parrish
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Parrish is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Zeigler
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hanaford
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Hanaford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanaford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
- Smothersville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Smothersville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
- Royalton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Gallatin County
- Equality
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Creal Springs, with the one closest to Creal Springs listed first.
- Walpole
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Walpole is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walpole
- Broughton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Macedonia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Hardin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Creal Springs, with the one closest to Creal Springs listed first.
- Shetlerville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Shetlerville is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shetlerville
- Karbers Ridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Rosiclare
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mineral City ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mineral City is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral City
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Creal Springs, with the one closest to Creal Springs listed first.
- Makanda
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Carbondale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- De Soto
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Pomona
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Hallidayboro
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hallidayboro is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallidayboro
- Elkville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Murphysboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Creal Springs, with the one closest to Creal Springs listed first.
- Egyptian Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Egyptian Hills is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egyptian Hills
- New Burnside
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Eagle Point Bay
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Eagle Point Bay is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point Bay
- Ozark
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Deer Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
- Reynoldsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Reynoldsburg is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsburg
- Goreville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Simpson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Buncombe
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Vienna
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Wartrace
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Wartrace is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartrace
- Bender ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Bender is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bender
- Massac County
- The following are listed by their distance from Creal Springs, with the one closest to Creal Springs listed first.
- Big Bay
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Big Bay is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bay
- New Columbia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- New Columbia is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Columbia
- Joppa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Pope County
- The following are listed by their distance from Creal Springs, with the one closest to Creal Springs listed first.
- McCormick
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- McCormick is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCormick
- Glendale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Glendale is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Eddyville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Oak
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Oak is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak
- Rock
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Rock is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
- Dixon Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dixon Springs is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon Springs
- Hartsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Hartsville is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsville
- Lusk
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lusk is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lusk
- Herod
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Leisure City
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Leisure City is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure City
- Golconda
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Creal Springs, with the one closest to Creal Springs listed first.
- Karnak
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Perks
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Grand Chain
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- New Grand Chain
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Ullin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Saline County
- The following are listed by their distance from Creal Springs, with the one closest to Creal Springs listed first.
- Stonefort
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Carrier Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Carrier Mills is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrier Mills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,527 people
- Former names for Carrier Mills:
- Carriers Mills
- Morrilsville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carrier Mills <1>
- Ledford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ledford is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledford
- Mitchellsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Mitchellsville is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchellsville
- Buena Vista
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Buena Vista is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Liberty
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Gaskins City
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Gaskins City is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaskins City
- Harrisburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Galatia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Muddy
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Raleigh
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wasson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wasson is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasson
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Creal Springs, with the one closest to Creal Springs listed first.
- Lick Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Mount Pleasant
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Water Valley
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Water Valley is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Cobden
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Anna
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dongola
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jonesboro
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Alto Pass
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Dutch Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dutch Mills is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Mills
- Mill Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mill Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Livingston County (KY)
- Carrsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Carrsville is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Creal Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Creal Springs.
Cemeteries Near Creal Springs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Creal Springs.
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 Creal Springs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Creal Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Creal Springs, with the one closest to Creal Springs listed first.
- Creal Springs Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Salem Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Donelson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- County Line Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Atwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cocke Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Cocke Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Newbold Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rich Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Drake Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Simmons Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Holmes Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (525 more) ...
- Arnold Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- White Oak Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Springer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Creal Springs had a population of 539 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Creal Springs had a population of 521 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Creal Springs, with the one closest to Creal Springs listed first.
- Parker
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Parker is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parker
- New Burnside
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- New Dennison
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- New Dennison is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Dennison
- Tunnel Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Ozark
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sandburn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Sandburn is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandburn
- Crab Orchard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Crab Orchard is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab Orchard
- Goreville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Marion
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- McCormick
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- McCormick is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCormick
- Attila
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Attila is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attila
- Bloomfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Bloomfield is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Simpson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bainbridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bainbridge is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainbridge
- Buncombe
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Creal Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Creal Springs.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Creal Springs ...
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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Creal Springs.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Creal Springs. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Creal Springs and those printed in the larger area surrounding Creal Springs.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3> of Creal Springs.
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 websites either 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 Creal Springs:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Williamson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Gallatin County
- Hamilton County
- Hardin County
- Jackson County
- Johnson County
- Massac County
- Pope County
- Pulaski County
- Saline County
- Union County
- Livingston 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> | 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 Creal Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Creal Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |