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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 Emma (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 Emma. 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 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 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.

Emma is located in White 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 White County: Edwards, Gallatin, Hamilton, Saline, Wayne, Gibson (IN) & Posey (IN).

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

  • White County     (The home county of Emma)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Emma, with the one closest to Emma listed first.
    • Herald
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Maunie
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Carmi
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Roland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Roland is located in White County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roland
    • Stokes
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Norris City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Phillipstown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Phillipstown is located in White County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipstown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
    • Crossville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Enfield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Calvin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Springerton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Burnt Prairie
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Grayville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Edwards County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Emma, with the one closest to Emma listed first.
    • Ellery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Albion
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Red Top
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Browns
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Gallatin County
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Emma, with the one closest to Emma listed first.
    • Broughton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Dale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Bungay
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jefferson City ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jefferson City is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson City
    • McLeansboro
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Walpole
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Diamond City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Diamond City is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond City
    • Piopolis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Flint
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Belle Prairie City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Belle Prairie City is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Prairie City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
  • Hardin County
  • Saline County
  • Wabash County
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Emma, with the one closest to Emma listed first.
    • Barnhill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Golden Gate
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Fairfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Gibson County (IN)
  • Posey County (IN)
  • Vanderburgh County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Emma, with the one closest to Emma listed first.
    • Cypress
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Cypress is located in Vanderburgh County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress
    • Kasson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Martin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Armstrong
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Vaughan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Vaughan is located in Vanderburgh County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughan
    • Darmstadt
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Darmstadt is located in Vanderburgh County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darmstadt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,442 people
    • Evansville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Highland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Highland is located in Vanderburgh County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
  • Henderson County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Emma, with the one closest to Emma listed first.
    • Smith Mills
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Smith Mills is located in Henderson County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Mills
    • Corydon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Corydon is located in Henderson County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corydon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 685 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Corydon <1>
    • White City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • White City is located in Henderson County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Henderson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Union County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Emma, with the one closest to Emma listed first.
    • Raleigh
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Uniontown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Uniontown is located in Union County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
    • Chapman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hitesville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Flournoy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Morganfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Breckinridge Center
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Breckinridge Center is located in Union County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breckinridge Center
    • Waverly
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Dekoven
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Grangertown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Sturgis
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Sturgis is located in Union County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,792 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sturgis <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Emma ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Emma.

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

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

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

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 in 1895, Emma had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Elm Grove ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Elm Grove is located in White County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Grove
  • Herald
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • New Haven
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Iron
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Iron is located in White County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron
  • Cottonwood
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Cottonwood is located in Gallatin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
  • Roland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Roland is located in White County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roland
  • Carmi
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Upton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Upton is located in Posey County (IN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upton
  • Brownsville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Brownsville is located in White County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
  • Stokes
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Grafton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Grafton is located in Posey County (IN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grafton
  • Erwin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Erwin is located in Posey County (IN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erwin
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Emma ...

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 111 newspapers that have been published in the area around Emma.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Emma, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Emma.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Emma:

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 Emma, 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' (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- Emma) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.