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 Douglas (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 Douglas. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.
Douglas is located in Saint Clair 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 Saint Clair County: Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, Washington, Saint Louis City (MO) & Saint Louis (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Douglas. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Douglas:
- Saint Clair County (The home county of Douglas)
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Smithton
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Freeburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Lementon
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Lementon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lementon
- Belleville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Millstadt
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gartside
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Gartside is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gartside
- Summit
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Summit is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Swansea
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Shiloh
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- New Athens
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- New Athens is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Athens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,865 people
- Fayetteville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Fayetteville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 336 people
- Imbs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Imbs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imbs
- Fairview Heights
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- New Memphis
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- New Baden
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Damiansville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Damiansville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damiansville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 484 people
- Trenton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Albers
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Aviston
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Germantown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Breese
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bartelso
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Saint Rose
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Rose is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Rose
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Collinsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Venice
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Maryville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Madison
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Newport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Newport is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Pontoon Beach
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Troy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Granite City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Nameoki
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Nameoki is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nameoki
- Glen Carbon
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Saint Jacob
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Brooks
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Brooks is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
- Mitchell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Mitchell is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Hecker
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Waterloo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Columbia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Burksville Station
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Burksville Station is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville Station
- Burksville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Burksville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville
- Wartburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wartburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartburg
- Foster Pond ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Foster Pond is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Pond
- Valmeyer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Madonnaville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Madonnaville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madonnaville
- Maeystown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Monroe City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Monroe City is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe City
- Renault
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Chalfin Bridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Chalfin Bridge is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalfin Bridge
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Red Bud
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Baldwin
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Ruma
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Ruma is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
- Houston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Houston is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
- Tilden
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Preston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Preston is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
- Evansville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Prairie du Rocher
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Prairie du Rocher is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie du Rocher
- Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
- Prairie du Rocher has also been known as:
- Prairie du Rocher village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prairie du Rocher <1>
- Walsh
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Walsh is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsh
- Modoc
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Modoc is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modoc
- Sparta
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Coulterville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ellis Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Venedy
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Venedy is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venedy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
- Stone Church
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Stone Church is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Church
- Caspars
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Caspars is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caspars
- Clarmin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Clarmin is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarmin
- Okawville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Elkton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Elkton is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Addieville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Oakdale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Jefferson County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Flamm City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Flamm City is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flamm City
- Arnold
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Arnold is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,145 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arnold <1>
- Imperial
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Kimmswick
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Maxville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Maxville is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxville
- Barnhart
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Pevely
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Pevely is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pevely
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,001 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pevely <1>
- Crystal City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Herculaneum
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Horine
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Horine is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horine
- Festus
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Festus is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Festus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,114 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Festus <1>
- Murphy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Murphy is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy
- Otto
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Otto is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otto
- Saint Louis City (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Carondelet
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Carondelet is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carondelet
- Saint Louis
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Tower Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Tower Grove is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Grove
- Cheltenham
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cheltenham is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheltenham
- Baden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Baden is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
- University City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- University City is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34,049 people
- Saint Louis County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Ivory
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ivory is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivory
- Oakville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Oakville is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Bella Villa
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Bella Villa is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bella Villa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 721 people
- Lemay
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Lemay is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemay
- Saint George
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Saint George is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint George
- Estimated population in 2011: 1,336 people
- Wilbur Park
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Wilbur Park is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbur Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
- Mehlville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Mehlville is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mehlville
- Affton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Affton is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Affton
- Green Park
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Green Park is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,614 people
- Lakeshire
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Lakeshire is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeshire
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,385 people
- Mattese
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Mattese is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattese
- Grantwood Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Grantwood Village is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantwood Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 855 people
- Concord
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Concord is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Brickeys
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Brickeys is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickeys
- Former names for Brickeys:
- Brickeys Gristmill
- Brickeys Landing
- Clement ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Clement is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clement
- Needmore
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Needmore is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
- Little Rock Landing ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Little Rock Landing is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock Landing
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Douglas, see our County-by-County Page for Douglas.
Cemeteries Near Douglas ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Douglas.
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 Douglas - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Douglas covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- St. John Catholic Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Smithton - Franklin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- High Prairie Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Richland Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Carr Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Stein - Nagel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Maurer Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Thompson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Wilderman Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Talbot Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Wiskamp Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (431 more) ...
- Elmwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Maplewood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- St. Paul Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
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>
While we didn't find Douglas in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Douglas.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Smithton
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Freeburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Wilderman
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wilderman is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilderman
- Floraville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Floraville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floraville
- Paderborn
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Paderborn is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paderborn
- Lementon
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Lementon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lementon
- Belleville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Millstadt
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rentchler
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rentchler is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rentchler
- Hecker
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Gartside
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Gartside is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gartside
- Summit
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Summit is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Birkner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Birkner is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birkner
- New Athens
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- New Athens is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Athens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,865 people
- Ogles
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ogles is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogles
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Douglas. See our List of 1890's Communities around Douglas.
Newspapers Published in Douglas ...
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 592 newspapers that have been published in the area around Douglas.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Douglas, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Douglas.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Douglas:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Saint Clair County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clinton County
- Madison County
- Monroe County
- Randolph County
- Washington County
- Jefferson County
- Saint Louis City
- Saint Louis County
- Sainte Genevieve 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 Douglas, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Douglas) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |