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 Elderville (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 Elderville. 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 hospitals and 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.
Elderville is located in Hancock 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 Hancock County: Lee (IA), Adams, Henderson, McDonough, Schuyler, Clark (MO) & Lewis (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Elderville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Elderville:
- Hancock County (The home county of Elderville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elderville, with the one closest to Elderville listed first.
- Sutter
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sutter is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutter
- Basco
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Elvaston
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Hamilton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- West Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- West Point is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 165 people
- Warsaw
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Bentley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Bentley is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bentley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 32 people
- Carthage
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ferris
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Chili
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Chili is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chili
- Bowen
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Powellton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Powellton is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
- Adrian
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elderville, with the one closest to Elderville listed first.
- Lima
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Loraine
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Marcelline
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Marcelline is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcelline
- Mendon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Meyer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Meyer is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meyer
- Ursa
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- La Prairie
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Coatsburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Paloma
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Golden
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fowler
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Camp Point
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Blacks
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Blacks is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blacks
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elderville, with the one closest to Elderville listed first.
- Lomax
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Iowa Junction
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Iowa Junction is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Junction
- Terre Haute
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Terre Haute is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terre Haute
- Carman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- McDonough County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elderville, with the one closest to Elderville listed first.
- Colmar
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Colmar is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colmar
- VIshnu Springs ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- VIshnu Springs is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for VIshnu Springs
- Tennessee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Colchester
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Blandinsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Schuyler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elderville, with the one closest to Elderville listed first.
- Huntsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Camden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Des Moines County (IA)
- Patterson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Patterson is located in Des Moines County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Lee County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elderville, with the one closest to Elderville listed first.
- Keokuk
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Buena Vista ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Buena Vista is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Sandusky
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sandusky is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
- Galland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Galland is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galland
- Montrose
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Vincennes
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Vincennes is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vincennes
- Argyle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- New Boston
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- New Boston is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Boston
- Fort Madison
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Jeffersonville ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jeffersonville is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeffersonville
- Charleston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Charleston is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Donnellson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Franklin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Franklin is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- Clark County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elderville, with the one closest to Elderville listed first.
- Alexandria
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Wayland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Wayland is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Saint Francisville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Francisville is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Francisville
- Saint Patrick
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Saint Patrick is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Patrick
- Clark City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Clark City is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark City
- Dumas
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dumas is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumas
- Revere
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Kahoka
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Peaksville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Peaksville is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Medill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Medill is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medill
- Neeper
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Neeper is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neeper
- Athens
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Athens is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
- Chambersburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Chambersburg is located in Clark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambersburg
- Lewis County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elderville, with the one closest to Elderville listed first.
- Canton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- La Grange
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Monticello
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Monticello is located in Lewis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
- Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
- Sellers
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sellers is located in Lewis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers
- Weber
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Weber is located in Lewis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weber
- Williamstown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Williamstown is located in Lewis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- Gilead
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gilead is located in Lewis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Maywood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Maywood is located in Lewis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maywood
- Marion County (MO)
- Taylor
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Elderville, see our County-by-County Page for Elderville.
Cemeteries Near Elderville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Elderville.
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 Elderville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Elderville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Elderville, with the one closest to Elderville listed first.
- McGee Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Wythe Presbyterian Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Bethlehem Church of Christ Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Salem Church - Sutter Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Green Plains Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cook Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- West Basco Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Elvaston Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wythe Congregational Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mt. Vernon MB Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Walker Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (415 more) ...
- Buckeye Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- South Basco Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Elderville had a population of 23 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Elderville, with the one closest to Elderville listed first.
- Sutter
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sutter is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutter
- Basco
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Elvaston
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Hamilton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- West Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- West Point is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 165 people
- Keokuk
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Warsaw
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Tioga
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Tioga is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tioga
- Buena Vista ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Buena Vista is located in Lee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Alexandria
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Stillwell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Stillwell is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stillwell
- Bentley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Bentley is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bentley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 32 people
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- McCall
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- McCall is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCall
- Denver
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Denver is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denver
- Sandusky
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sandusky is located in Lee County (IA)
- 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 Elderville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Elderville.
Newspapers Published in Elderville ...
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 86 newspapers that have been published in the area around Elderville.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Elderville, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Elderville.
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 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 Elderville:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Hancock County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- Henderson County
- McDonough County
- Schuyler County
- Des Moines County
- Lee County
- Clark County
- Lewis County
- Marion 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 Elderville, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Elderville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |