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 Elsah (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 Elsah. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.
Elsah is located in Jersey 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 Jersey County: Calhoun, Greene, Macoupin, Madison & Saint Charles (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Elsah. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Elsah:
- Jersey County (The home county of Elsah)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elsah, with the one closest to Elsah listed first.
- Chautauqua
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Chautauqua is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
- Dow
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Grafton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- McClusky
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- McClusky is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClusky
- Otterville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Otterville is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otterville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Delhi
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Delhi is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
- Jerseyville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Fieldon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Nutwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Nutwood is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutwood
- Fidelity
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Spankey
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Spankey is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spankey
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elsah, with the one closest to Elsah listed first.
- Deer Plain
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Deer Plain is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Plain
- Brussels
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Golden Eagle
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Batchtown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Gilead
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Gilead is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Hardin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Star City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Star City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
- Michael
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hamburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Kampsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elsah, with the one closest to Elsah listed first.
- Kane
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Mid City ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Mid City is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid City
- East Hardin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- East Hardin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hardin
- Woody
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Woody is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woody
- Carrollton
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Rockbridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Eldred
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Greenfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Belltown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Belltown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown
- Wrights
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Walkerville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Walkerville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkerville
- Macoupin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elsah, with the one closest to Elsah listed first.
- Brighton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Miles Station
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Miles Station is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miles Station
- Piasa
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Medora
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Shipman
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Summerville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Summerville is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
- Bunker Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Challacombe
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Challacombe is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Challacombe
- Royal Lakes
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Royal Lakes is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 185 people
- Royal Lakes has also been known as:
- Royal Lakes village
- Plainview
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Chesterfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Dorchester
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Dorchester is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elsah, with the one closest to Elsah listed first.
- Melville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Melville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melville
- Godfrey
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Altamont
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Belmont Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Belmont Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont Village
- Alton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- East Alton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- East Alton is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Alton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,922 people
- Cottage Hills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Cottage Hills is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Hills
- Rosewood Heights
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Rosewood Heights is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosewood Heights
- Wood River
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Hartford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bethalto
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Roxana
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elsah, with the one closest to Elsah listed first.
- Brooklyn
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Brooklyn is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 687 people
- National City
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- East Saint Louis
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fairmont City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fairmont City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,439 people
- Washington Park
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Washington Park is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,831 people
- Cahokia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Sauget
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Alorton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bunkum
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bunkum is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunkum
- Caseyville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- East Carondelet
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Centreville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Centreville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,844 people
- Lincoln County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elsah, with the one closest to Elsah listed first.
- Cap au Gris
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Cap au Gris is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cap au Gris
- Winfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Foley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Old Monroe
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Argentville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Argentville is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argentville
- Chain-of-Rocks
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Chain-of-Rocks is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chain-of-Rocks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Fountain N' Lakes
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Fountain N' Lakes is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain N' Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
- Fountain N' Lakes has also been known as:
- Fountain N' Lakes village
- Elsberry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- New Hope
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- New Hope is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Moscow Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Saint Charles County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elsah, with the one closest to Elsah listed first.
- Portage Des Sioux
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- West Alton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Gardnerville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Gardnerville is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardnerville
- Saint Charles
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Harvester
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Peters
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- O'Fallon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- O'Fallon is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Fallon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 89,769 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for O'Fallon <1>
- All Saints Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- All Saints Village is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for All Saints Village
- Cottleville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Paul
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Saint Paul is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,796 people
- Weldon Spring
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Dardenne Prairie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Louis City (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elsah, with the one closest to Elsah listed first.
- Baden
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Baden is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
- University City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- 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
- Cheltenham
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Cheltenham is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheltenham
- Tower Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Tower Grove is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Grove
- Saint Louis
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Carondelet
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Carondelet is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carondelet
- Saint Louis County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elsah, with the one closest to Elsah listed first.
- Florissant
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Florissant is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florissant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 50,795 people
- Black Jack
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Black Jack is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Jack
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,921 people
- Hazelwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Berkeley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Berkeley is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkeley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,892 people
- Bridgeton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Bridgeton is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,498 people
- Calverton Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Calverton Park is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calverton Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,267 people
- Spanish Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Spanish Lake is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spanish Lake
- Dellwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Dellwood is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,994 people
- Ferguson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Ferguson is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,457 people
- Kinloch
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Kinloch is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinloch
- Population from the 2020 Census: 292 people
- Castle Point
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Castle Point is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Point
- Earth City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Elsah, see our County-by-County Page for Elsah.
Cemeteries Near Elsah ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Elsah.
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 Elsah - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Elsah covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Elsah, with the one closest to Elsah listed first.
- Elsah Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- St. Francis Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- St. Francis of Assissi Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- St. Michaels Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Wendle Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Salem Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Askew Hollow Farm Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Newbern Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Barweis Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bethel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lurton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Lewis Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (419 more) ...
- Scenic Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Edsall Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Dougherty Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Elsah had a population of 271 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Elsah had a population of 604 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Elsah, with the one closest to Elsah listed first.
- Portage Des Sioux
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Newbern
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Newbern is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbern
- East Newbern
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- East Newbern is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Newbern
- Grafton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Black Walnut
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Black Walnut is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Walnut
- Melville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Melville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melville
- McClusky
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- McClusky is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClusky
- Otterville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Otterville is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otterville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Godfrey
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- North Alton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- North Alton is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Alton
- Delhi
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Delhi is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
- Deer Plain
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Deer Plain is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Plain
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Cross Keys
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Cross Keys is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Keys
- Alton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Elm Point
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Elm Point is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Point
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Elsah. See our List of 1890's Communities around Elsah.
Newspapers Published in Elsah ...
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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Elsah.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Elsah, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Elsah.
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 helpful 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 Elsah:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Jersey County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Greene County
- Macoupin County
- Madison County
- Saint Clair County
- Lincoln County
- Saint Charles County
- Saint Louis City
- Saint Louis 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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Elsah) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Elsah, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |