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 Diana (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 Diana. 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.
Diana is located in Franklin 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 Franklin County: Hamilton, Jackson, Jefferson, Perry, Saline & Williamson.
Below are the counties that are near Diana. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Diana:
- Franklin County (The home county of Diana)
- The following are listed by their distance from Diana, with the one closest to Diana listed first.
- Frisco
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Frisco is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frisco
- Taylor Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Taylor Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Hill
- Ewing
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Akin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Whittington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Steel City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Steel City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steel City
- Benton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hanaford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hanaford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanaford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
- Parrish
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Parrish is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Smothersville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Smothersville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
- Thompsonville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- West City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- West City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 626 people
- Rend City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Rend City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rend City
- Gallatin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Diana, with the one closest to Diana listed first.
- Omaha
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Elba
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Elba is located in Gallatin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Diana, with the one closest to Diana listed first.
- Macedonia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lovilla
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lovilla is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovilla
- Flint
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Flint is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
- Dahlgren
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Diamond City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Diamond City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond City
- McLeansboro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Piopolis
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Piopolis is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piopolis
- Belle Prairie City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Belle Prairie City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Prairie City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
- Dale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Walpole
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Walpole is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walpole
- Jefferson City ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Jefferson City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson City
- Bungay
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Bungay is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bungay
- Broughton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Diana, with the one closest to Diana listed first.
- Dowell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Elkville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hallidayboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hallidayboro is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallidayboro
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Diana, with the one closest to Diana listed first.
- Belle Rive
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Ina
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ina is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,279 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ina <1>
- Opdyke
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Bonnie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Nason
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dareville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Dareville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dareville
- Fitzgerrell ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Fitzgerrell is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzgerrell
- Bluford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Markham City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Markham City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markham City
- Marlow
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Marlow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlow
- Marcoe
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Marcoe is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcoe
- Summersville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Summersville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summersville
- Emerson City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Emerson City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson City
- Marion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Diana, with the one closest to Diana listed first.
- Hickory Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Hickory Hill is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hill
- Kell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Union Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Union Town is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Town
- Walnut Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Diana, with the one closest to Diana listed first.
- Sunfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Sunfield is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunfield
- Tamaroa
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Du Quoin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Du Quoin is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Quoin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,591 people
- Saint Johns
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Saint Johns is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Saline County
- The following are listed by their distance from Diana, with the one closest to Diana listed first.
- Cornerville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cornerville is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornerville
- Long Branch
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Long Branch is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Galatia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Raleigh
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Texas City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Texas City is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas City
- Saline City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Saline City is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saline City
- Wasson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wasson is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasson
- Buena Vista
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Buena Vista is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Eldorado
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Muddy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Liberty is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Harrisburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Gaskins City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Gaskins City is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaskins City
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Diana, with the one closest to Diana listed first.
- Radom
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Du Bois
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Du Bois is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Bois
- Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
- Ashley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Richview
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wayne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Diana, with the one closest to Diana listed first.
- Keenes
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Wayne City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Sims
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Barnhill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Boyleston
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Boyleston is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyleston
- Fairfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Geff
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jeffersonville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jeffersonville is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeffersonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 350 people
- White County
- The following are listed by their distance from Diana, with the one closest to Diana listed first.
- Enfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Springerton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Norris City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Mill Shoals
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Stokes
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Stokes is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokes
- Burnt Prairie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Roland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Roland is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roland
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Diana, with the one closest to Diana listed first.
- Corinth
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Corinth is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Hartford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Hartford is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
- Freeman Spur
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Freeman Spur is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman Spur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
- Freeman Spur has also been known as:
- Freeman Spur village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeman Spur <1>
- Johnston City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Stiritz
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Stiritz is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiritz
- Pittsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Herrin Junction ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Herrin Junction is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrin Junction
- Whiteash
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Whiteash is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteash
- Estimated population in 2014: 240 people
- Spillertown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Spillertown is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spillertown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Herrin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Energy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bush
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bush is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bush
- Population from the 2020 Census: 263 people
- Colp
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Colp is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colp
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Former name for Colp:
- Colpville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colp <1>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Diana, see our County-by-County Page for Diana.
Cemeteries Near Diana ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Diana.
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 Diana - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Diana covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Diana, with the one closest to Diana listed first.
- Jacksonville Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Middle Fork Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Gilgal Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Smith Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Walnut Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Liberty - Ridlin Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sugar Camp Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Nebo Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Wilbanks Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Thurmond Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Phillips Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Atchisson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Continue List (485 more) ...
- Overturf Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Lowry Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Four Graves
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
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 Diana in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Diana.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Diana, with the one closest to Diana listed first.
- Taylor Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Taylor Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Hill
- Macedonia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ewing
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Akin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Flint
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Flint is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
- Dahlgren
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Garden
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Garden is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Delafield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Delafield is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delafield
- Belle Rive
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Benton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Braden
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Braden is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braden
- Opdyke
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Smothersville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Smothersville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
- Parrish
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Parrish is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Rural Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rural Hill is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Hill
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Diana. See our List of 1890's Communities around Diana.
Newspapers Published in Diana ...
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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Diana.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Diana, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Diana.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Diana:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Franklin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Gallatin County
- Hamilton County
- Jackson County
- Jefferson County
- Marion County
- Perry County
- Saline County
- Washington County
- Wayne County
- White County
- Williamson 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 Diana, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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- Diana) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |