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 Fairmont (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 Fairmont. 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.
Fairmont is located in Madison 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 Madison County: Bond, Clinton, Jersey, Macoupin, Montgomery, Saint Clair, Saint Charles (MO), Saint Louis City (MO) & Saint Louis (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Fairmont. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Fairmont:
- Madison County (The home county of Fairmont)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairmont, with the one closest to Fairmont listed first.
- Altamont
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Belmont Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Belmont Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont Village
- Melville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Melville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melville
- Alton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Godfrey
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- East Alton
(6 miles [9.7 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
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Cottage Hills is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Hills
- Rosewood Heights
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Rosewood Heights is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosewood Heights
- Wood River
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hartford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bethalto
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Roxana
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Moro
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairmont, with the one closest to Fairmont listed first.
- Deer Plain
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Deer Plain is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Plain
- Golden Eagle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Brussels
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Batchtown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Hardin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Gilead
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Gilead is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Star City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Star City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairmont, with the one closest to Fairmont listed first.
- Kane
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Mid City ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Mid City is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid City
- Rockbridge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- East Hardin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- East Hardin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hardin
- Carrollton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Woody
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Woody is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woody
- Greenfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Jersey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairmont, with the one closest to Fairmont listed first.
- Elsah
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Delhi
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Delhi is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
- Dow
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Chautauqua
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Chautauqua is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
- McClusky
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- McClusky is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClusky
- Grafton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Otterville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Otterville is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otterville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Jerseyville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fidelity
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Fieldon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Nutwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Nutwood is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutwood
- Spankey
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Spankey is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spankey
- Macoupin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairmont, with the one closest to Fairmont listed first.
- Brighton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Miles Station
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Miles Station is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miles Station
- Piasa
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Bunker Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Shipman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Medora
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Summerville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Summerville is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
- Royal Lakes
(19 miles [30.6 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
- Challacombe
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Challacombe is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Challacombe
- Dorchester
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Dorchester is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Plainview
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wilsonville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Staunton
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairmont, with the one closest to Fairmont listed first.
- Brooklyn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Brooklyn is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 687 people
- Fairmont City
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Fairmont City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,439 people
- National City
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- East Saint Louis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Washington Park
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Washington Park is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,831 people
- Bunkum
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bunkum is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunkum
- Caseyville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sauget
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Alorton
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Cahokia
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- French Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- French Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Village
- Centreville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Centreville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,844 people
- East Carondelet
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lincoln County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairmont, with the one closest to Fairmont listed first.
- Cap au Gris
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Cap au Gris is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cap au Gris
- Old Monroe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Winfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Foley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Saint Charles County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairmont, with the one closest to Fairmont listed first.
- West Alton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Portage Des Sioux
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Gardnerville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Gardnerville is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardnerville
- Saint Charles
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Harvester
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Peters
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- All Saints Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- All Saints Village is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for All Saints Village
- Cottleville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- O'Fallon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- 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>
- Weldon Spring
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Paul
(28 miles [45.1 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 Heights
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Weldon Spring Heights is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weldon Spring Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
- Dardenne Prairie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Saint Louis City (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairmont, with the one closest to Fairmont listed first.
- Baden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Baden is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
- University City
(18 miles [29 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
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Cheltenham is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheltenham
- Saint Louis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Tower Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Tower Grove is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Grove
- Carondelet
(24 miles [38.6 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 Fairmont, with the one closest to Fairmont listed first.
- Black Jack
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- 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
- Spanish Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Spanish Lake is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spanish Lake
- Bellefontaine Neighbors
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bellefontaine Neighbors is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefontaine Neighbors
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,297 people
- Castle Point
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Castle Point is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Point
- Glasgow Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Glasgow Village is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow Village
- Florissant
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Florissant is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florissant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 50,795 people
- Dellwood
(11 miles [17.7 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
(11 miles [17.7 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
- Moline Acres
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Moline Acres is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moline Acres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,339 people
- Riverview
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Riverview is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,821 people
- Calverton Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- 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
- Berkeley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Berkeley is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkeley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,892 people
- Cool Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Cool Valley is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cool Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,127 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Fairmont, see our County-by-County Page for Fairmont.
Cemeteries Near Fairmont ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fairmont.
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 Fairmont - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Fairmont covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Fairmont, with the one closest to Fairmont listed first.
- Confederate Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Immaculate Conception Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Alton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Alton Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Alton.
- The Alton Cemetery has also been known as:
- Alton National Cemetery
- Grandview Cemetery
- Lovejoy Cemetery
- Lovejoy Memorial Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #640635 <2>
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Valhalla Memorial Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bailey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Godfrey City Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Espedeza Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bethany Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Continue List (443 more) ...
- East Alton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Milton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Alton State Hospital 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>
While we didn't find Fairmont in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Fairmont.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Fairmont, with the one closest to Fairmont listed first.
- North Alton
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- North Alton is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Alton
- Alton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Melville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Melville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melville
- Godfrey
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Upper Alton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Upper Alton is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Alton
- Portage Des Sioux
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Black Walnut
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Black Walnut is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Walnut
- Cross Keys
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cross Keys is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Keys
- Spanish Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Spanish Lake is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spanish Lake
- Fosterburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Fosterburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosterburg
- Elsah
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Delhi
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Delhi is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Bethalto
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Brighton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- East Newbern
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- East Newbern is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Newbern
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Fairmont. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fairmont.
Newspapers Published in Fairmont ...
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 123 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fairmont.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fairmont, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fairmont.
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 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 Fairmont:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Madison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Greene County
- Jersey County
- Macoupin 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> | 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 Fairmont, 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- Fairmont) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |