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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 Donnellson (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 Donnellson. 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 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.

Donnellson is primarily located in Montgomery County. A portion of Donnellson extends into Bond 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 Montgomery County: Bond, Christian, Fayette, Macoupin, Madison, Sangamon & Shelby.

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

  • Montgomery County     (The home county of Donnellson)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donnellson, with the one closest to Donnellson listed first.
    • Panama
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Coffeen
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Taylor Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Walshville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Schram City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Schram City is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schram City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 542 people
    • Chapman
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Chapman is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapman
    • Hillsboro
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Butler
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Irving
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Fillmore
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Litchfield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Witt
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Witt is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Witt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 833 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Witt <1>
  • Bond County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donnellson, with the one closest to Donnellson listed first.
    • Reno
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Reno is located in Bond County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
    • Sorento
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Greenville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Old Ripley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Old Ripley is located in Bond County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Ripley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
    • Smithboro
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Mulberry Grove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Pocahontas
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Mound
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Pleasant Mound is located in Bond County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Mound
    • Pierron
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Christian County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donnellson, with the one closest to Donnellson listed first.
    • Morrisonville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Palmer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Rosamond
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donnellson, with the one closest to Donnellson listed first.
    • Keyesport
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Marydale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Marydale is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marydale
    • Saint Rose
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Saint Rose is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Rose
    • Boulder
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Boulder is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder
    • Aviston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Carlyle
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Beckemeyer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Breese
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Huey
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Huey is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 161 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Huey <1>
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donnellson, with the one closest to Donnellson listed first.
    • Bingham
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Bayle City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Bayle City is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayle City
    • Hagarstown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Vandalia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Ramsey
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Bluff City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Bluff City is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
    • Shobonier
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Dressor
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Dressor is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dressor
    • Brownstown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Avena
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Avena is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avena
    • Saint Paul
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Saint Paul is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
  • Macoupin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donnellson, with the one closest to Donnellson listed first.
    • Mount Olive
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Lake Ka-ho
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Lake Ka-ho is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ka-ho
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
      • Lake Ka-ho has also been known as:
      • Lake Ka-Ho village
    • White City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • White City is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 230 people
    • Staunton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Hornsby
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Hornsby is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornsby
    • Eagarville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Sawyerville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Benld
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Benld is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benld
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,406 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Benld <1>
    • East Gillespie
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • East Gillespie is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gillespie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 259 people
    • Gillespie
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Mount Clare
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Mount Clare is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Clare
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 262 people
    • Wilsonville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donnellson, with the one closest to Donnellson listed first.
    • New Douglas
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Williamson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Livingston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Alhambra
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Grantfork
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Grantfork is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantfork
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
    • Worden
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Hamel
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Highland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Sebastopol
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Sebastopol is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sebastopol
    • Marine
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Prairietown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Prairietown is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairietown
    • Fruit
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Fruit is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruit
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donnellson, with the one closest to Donnellson listed first.
    • Vernon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Patoka
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Shelby County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donnellson, with the one closest to Donnellson listed first.
    • Oconee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Herrick
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Donnellson ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Donnellson.

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

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

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

  • Donneilson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Union Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Elm Point Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Edwards Chapel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Jett Number Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Waveland Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Traylor Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Mansfield Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Rankin Presbyterian Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Tisdale Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Union Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (375 more) ...
    • McDavid Point Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Sunny Side Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Shiloh Presbyterian Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)

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 Donnellson had a population of 300 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Donnellson had a population of 196 people.

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

  • Reno
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Reno is located in Bond County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
  • Sorento
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Coffeen
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Walshville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Chapman
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Chapman is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapman
  • Old Ripley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Old Ripley is located in Bond County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Ripley
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
  • Hillsboro
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Greenville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • New Douglas
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Butler
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Smithboro
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Stubblefield
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Stubblefield is located in Bond County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stubblefield
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Fillmore
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Irving
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Mulberry Grove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Donnellson ...

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 121 newspapers that have been published in the area around Donnellson.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Donnellson, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Donnellson.

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 Donnellson:

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 Donnellson, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Donnellson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.