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 Dongola (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 Dongola. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.
Dongola is located in Union 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 Union County: Alexander, Jackson, Johnson, Pulaski, Williamson, Cape Girardeau (MO) & Perry (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Dongola. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dongola:
- Union County (The home county of Dongola)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dongola, with the one closest to Dongola listed first.
- Mill Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mill Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Dutch Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dutch Mills is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Mills
- Mount Pleasant
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Anna
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jonesboro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lick Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Cobden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Reynoldsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Reynoldsville is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
- Water Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Water Valley is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Alto Pass
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wolf Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Alexander County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dongola, with the one closest to Dongola listed first.
- Elco
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Tamms
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Diswood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Diswood is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diswood
- Hodges Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Hodges Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges Park
- Unity
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- McClure
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Olive Branch
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cache
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Thebes
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Thebes is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thebes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- East Cape Girardeau
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- East Cape Girardeau is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cape Girardeau
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Frog City ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Frog City is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog City
- Miller City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cairo Junction
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Cairo Junction is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo Junction
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dongola, with the one closest to Dongola listed first.
- Makanda
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Pomona
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Carbondale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Grand Tower
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Murphysboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Gorham
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dongola, with the one closest to Dongola listed first.
- Cypress
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Belknap
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Buncombe
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bender ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Bender is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bender
- Vienna
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Goreville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Deer Ridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
- Eagle Point Bay
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Eagle Point Bay is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point Bay
- Wartrace
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Wartrace is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartrace
- Egyptian Hills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Egyptian Hills is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egyptian Hills
- Grantsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Simpson
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Reynoldsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Reynoldsburg is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsburg
- Massac County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dongola, with the one closest to Dongola listed first.
- Joppa
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- New Columbia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- New Columbia is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Columbia
- Big Bay
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Big Bay is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bay
- Metropolis
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Massac City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Massac City is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massac City
- Pope County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dongola, with the one closest to Dongola listed first.
- Dixon Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Dixon Springs is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon Springs
- Glendale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Glendale is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Rock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Rock is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
- McCormick
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- McCormick is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCormick
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dongola, with the one closest to Dongola listed first.
- Ullin
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Perks
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Pulaski
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Grand Chain
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- New Grand Chain
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- 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
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Olmsted
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Villa Ridge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Villa Ridge is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Ridge
- Mounds
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Mounds is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mounds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
- Mound City
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Saline County
- Stonefort
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dongola, with the one closest to Dongola listed first.
- Lake Crest
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Crest is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Crest
- Creal Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Crainville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Crainville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crainville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,419 people
- Carterville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Marion
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cambria
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Dewmaine
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Dewmaine is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewmaine
- Energy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Ballard County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dongola, with the one closest to Dongola listed first.
- Bandana
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bandana is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandana
- Barlow
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Barlow is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 628 people
- La Center
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Kevil
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Wickliffe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Ceredo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ceredo is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceredo
- Gage
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Gage is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gage
- Blandville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Blandville is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blandville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
- McCracken County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dongola, with the one closest to Dongola listed first.
- Ragland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ragland is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragland
- Woodville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Woodville is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Cimota City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cimota City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cimota City
- Grahamville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Grahamville is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahamville
- Future City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Future City
- West Future City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- West Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Future City
- West Paducah
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dongola, with the one closest to Dongola listed first.
- Cape Girardeau
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Leemon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Leemon is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemon
- Jackson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- 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>
- Pocahontas
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Dutchtown
(28 miles [45.1 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
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Shawneetown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Shawneetown is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawneetown
- Mississippi County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dongola, with the one closest to Dongola listed first.
- Greenfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Greenfield is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Wyatt
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Wyatt is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Wilson City
(30 miles [48.3 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
- Perry County (MO)
- Altenburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Scott County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dongola, with the one closest to Dongola listed first.
- Commerce
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Scott City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kelso
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Benton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lambert
(28 miles [45.1 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
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- New Hamburg is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hamburg
- Chaffee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Dongola, see our County-by-County Page for Dongola.
Cemeteries Near Dongola ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dongola.
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 Dongola - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Dongola covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Dongola, with the one closest to Dongola listed first.
- American Legion Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Sheffer Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Hinkle Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Union Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Butter Ridge Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Kimmel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mission Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sims Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ullin City Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Cache Chapel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (454 more) ...
- McGinnis Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- New Hope Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Anna City Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Dongola had a population of 733 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Dongola had a population of 672 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Dongola, with the one closest to Dongola listed first.
- Wetaug
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Wetaug is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wetaug
- Mill Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mill Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Balcom
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Balcom is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balcom
- Ullin
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Springville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Springville is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Elco
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Moscow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Moscow is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Mount Pleasant
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Anna
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jonesboro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pulaski
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Grand Chain
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- New Grand Chain
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Elvira
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Elvira is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elvira
- Sandusky
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sandusky is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Dongola. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dongola.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Dongola ...
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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dongola.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Dongola. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Dongola and those printed in the larger area surrounding Dongola.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4> of Dongola.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Dongola:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Union County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alexander County
- Jackson County
- Johnson County
- Massac County
- Pope County
- Pulaski County
- Saline County
- Williamson County
- Ballard County
- McCracken County
- Cape Girardeau County
- Mississippi County
- Perry 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 Dongola, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Dongola) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |