Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Eltham. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Eltham to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Eltham, please Contact Us.
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 Eltham (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 Eltham. 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 and doctors 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Eltham is historic, it would have been located within present day Jackson 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 Jackson County: Franklin, Perry, Randolph, Union, Williamson & Perry (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Eltham. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Eltham:
- Jackson County (The home county of Eltham)
- The following are listed by their distance from Eltham, with the one closest to Eltham listed first.
- Pomona
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Murphysboro
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Carbondale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Makanda
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gorham
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Grand Tower
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- De Soto
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jacob
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Oraville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Hallidayboro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Hallidayboro is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallidayboro
- Vergennes
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Elkville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Ava
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Alexander County
- The following are listed by their distance from Eltham, with the one closest to Eltham listed first.
- Elco
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- McClure
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- East Cape Girardeau
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- East Cape Girardeau is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cape Girardeau
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Diswood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Diswood is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diswood
- Tamms
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Eltham, with the one closest to Eltham listed first.
- Royalton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Zeigler
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Plumfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Plumfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
- Cambon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Cambon is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambon
- Mulkeytown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Christopher
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Orient
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Coello
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- North City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- North City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 566 people
- Buckner
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- West Frankfort
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- West Frankfort is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Frankfort
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,733 people
- Valier
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Deering City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Deering City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deering City
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Eltham, with the one closest to Eltham listed first.
- Goreville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Deer Ridge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
- Eagle Point Bay
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Eagle Point Bay is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point Bay
- Buncombe
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Egyptian Hills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Egyptian Hills is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egyptian Hills
- Cypress
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Vienna
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Eltham, with the one closest to Eltham listed first.
- Pyatts
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Pyatts is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pyatts
- Denmark
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Denmark is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Du Quoin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Du Quoin is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Quoin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,591 people
- Saint Johns
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Saint Johns is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Willisville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Conant
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Conant is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
- Sunfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Sunfield is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunfield
- Pinckneyville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Cutler
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Eltham, with the one closest to Eltham listed first.
- Ullin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Perks
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Eltham, with the one closest to Eltham listed first.
- Rockwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Shiloh Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Shiloh Hill is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh Hill
- Leanderville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Leanderville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leanderville
- Percy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Welge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Welge is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welge
- Steeleville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bremen
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Eltham, with the one closest to Eltham listed first.
- Alto Pass
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Cobden
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Water Valley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Water Valley is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Wolf Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Anna
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Jonesboro
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Dutch Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Dutch Mills is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Mills
- Lick Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Mount Pleasant
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Reynoldsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Reynoldsville is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
- Mill Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Mill Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Dongola
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Eltham, with the one closest to Eltham listed first.
- Cambria
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Crainville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Crainville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crainville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,419 people
- Blairsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Blairsville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsville
- Carterville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hurst
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bush
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bush is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bush
- Population from the 2020 Census: 263 people
- Colp
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Colp is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colp
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Former name for Colp:
- Colpville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colp <2>
- Dewmaine
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dewmaine is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewmaine
- Energy
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Herrin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Herrin Junction ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Herrin Junction is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrin Junction
- Marion
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Freeman Spur
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Freeman Spur is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman Spur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
- Freeman Spur has also been known as:
- Freeman Spur village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeman Spur <2>
- Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Eltham, with the one closest to Eltham listed first.
- Leemon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Leemon is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemon
- Shawneetown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Shawneetown is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawneetown
- Pocahontas
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Old Appleton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Old Appleton is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Appleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
- Oak Ridge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Jackson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- 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 <2>
- Cape Girardeau
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Daisy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Daisy is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
- Friedheim
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Millersville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Perry County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Eltham, with the one closest to Eltham listed first.
- Altenburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Frohna
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Frohna is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frohna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Brazeau
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Brazeau is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazeau
- Farrar
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Farrar is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrar
- Eureka
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Eureka is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Uniontown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Uniontown is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Longtown
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Longtown is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longtown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
- Biehle
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Biehle is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biehle
- McBride
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- McBride is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBride
- Perryville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Sereno
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Sereno is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sereno
- Millheim
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Millheim is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millheim
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Eltham, see our County-by-County Page for Eltham.
Cemeteries Near Eltham ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Eltham.
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 Eltham - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Eltham covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Eltham, with the one closest to Eltham listed first.
- Bostick Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Etherton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Dutch Ridge Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Poplar Ridge Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Stearns Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Hagler Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Hiller - Crab Orchard Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Stearns Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Lipe Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Union Hills Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (457 more) ...
- Hilton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Winchester Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Winchester 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.
While we didn't find Eltham in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Eltham.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Eltham, with the one closest to Eltham listed first.
- Pomona
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Murphysboro
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Alto Pass
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Boskydell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Boskydell is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boskydell
- Makanda
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Carbondale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sand Ridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sand Ridge is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Ridge
- Harrison
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Harrison is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Grand Tower
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Aldridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Aldridge is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldridge
- Mountain Glen
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Mountain Glen is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Glen
- Cobden
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Grange Hall
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Grange Hall is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grange Hall
- Wittenberg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Wittenberg is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittenberg
- De Soto
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Eltham. See our List of 1890's Communities around Eltham.
Newspapers Published in Eltham ...
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 103 newspapers that have been published in the area around Eltham.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Eltham, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Eltham.
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 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 Eltham:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Jackson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alexander County
- Franklin County
- Johnson County
- Perry County
- Pulaski County
- Randolph County
- Union County
- Williamson County
- Cape Girardeau County
- Perry County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Illinois
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Eltham, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Eltham) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |