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 Francis (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 Francis. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Francis is located in Saline 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 Saline County: Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Johnson, Pope, White & Williamson.
Below are the counties that are near Francis. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Francis:
- Saline County (The home county of Francis)
- The following are listed by their distance from Francis, with the one closest to Francis listed first.
- Texas City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Texas City is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas City
- Saline City
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Saline City is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saline City
- Eldorado
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Raleigh
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Long Branch
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Long Branch is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Wasson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Wasson is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasson
- Red Bud ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Red Bud is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bud
- Muddy
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Galatia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cornerville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Cornerville is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornerville
- Cottage Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Cottage Grove is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Grove
- Gaskins City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Gaskins City is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaskins City
- Buena Vista
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Buena Vista is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Francis, with the one closest to Francis listed first.
- Thompsonville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Akin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Fitt's Hill ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Fitt's Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitt's Hill
- Parrish
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Parrish is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Hanaford
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Hanaford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanaford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
- Smothersville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Smothersville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
- Frisco
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Frisco is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frisco
- Taylor Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Taylor Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Hill
- Deering City
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Deering City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deering City
- Steel City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Steel City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steel City
- Ewing
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- West Frankfort
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- West Frankfort is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Frankfort
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,733 people
- Benton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Gallatin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Francis, with the one closest to Francis listed first.
- Omaha
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Elba
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Elba is located in Gallatin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
- Equality
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ridgway
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lawler
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lawler is located in Gallatin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawler
- Inman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Inman is located in Gallatin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman
- Junction
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- New Haven
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Shawneetown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bowlesville ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bowlesville is located in Gallatin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlesville
- Old Shawneetown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Old Shawneetown is located in Gallatin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Shawneetown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Francis, with the one closest to Francis listed first.
- Broughton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Dale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Walpole
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Walpole is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walpole
- McLeansboro
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Diamond City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Diamond City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond City
- Flint
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Flint is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
- Jefferson City ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Jefferson City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson City
- Macedonia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bungay
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Bungay is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bungay
- Piopolis
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Piopolis is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piopolis
- Lovilla
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lovilla is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovilla
- Belle Prairie City
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Belle Prairie City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Prairie City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
- Dahlgren
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hardin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Francis, with the one closest to Francis listed first.
- Karbers Ridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Rock Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rock Creek is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Saline Landing
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Saline Landing is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saline Landing
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Francis, with the one closest to Francis listed first.
- Belle Rive
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ina
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ina is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,279 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ina <1>
- Opdyke
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Francis, with the one closest to Francis listed first.
- New Burnside
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ozark
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pope County
- The following are listed by their distance from Francis, with the one closest to Francis listed first.
- Herod
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Oak
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Oak is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak
- Hartsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Hartsville is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsville
- McCormick
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- McCormick is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCormick
- Eddyville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Leisure City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Leisure City is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure City
- Lusk
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Lusk is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lusk
- Wayne County
- Barnhill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- White County
- The following are listed by their distance from Francis, with the one closest to Francis listed first.
- Norris City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Roland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Roland is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roland
- Stokes
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Stokes is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokes
- Herald
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Enfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Emma
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Springerton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Carmi
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mill Shoals
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Maunie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Burnt Prairie
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Crossville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Phillipstown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Phillipstown is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Francis, with the one closest to Francis listed first.
- Hartford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hartford is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
- Corinth
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Corinth is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Pittsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Johnston City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Whiteash
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Whiteash is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteash
- Estimated population in 2014: 240 people
- Spillertown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Spillertown is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spillertown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Stiritz
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Stiritz is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiritz
- Creal Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Marion
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Freeman Spur
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- 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 <1>
- Herrin Junction ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Herrin Junction is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrin Junction
- Posey County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Francis, with the one closest to Francis listed first.
- Hovey
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Hovey is located in Posey County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hovey
- Savah
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Savah is located in Posey County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savah
- Mount Vernon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Union County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Francis, with the one closest to Francis listed first.
- Raleigh
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Raleigh is located in Union County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh
- Uniontown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Uniontown is located in Union County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
- Dekoven
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Dekoven is located in Union County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dekoven
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Francis, see our County-by-County Page for Francis.
Cemeteries Near Francis ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Francis.
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 Francis - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Francis covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Francis, with the one closest to Francis listed first.
- Douglass Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglass Cemetery
- The Douglass Cemetery has also been known as:
- Douglas Cemetery
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
- Pleasant Grove Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1966139 <2>
- Gholson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Lantham Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Roberts Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Gaines Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Keasler Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Barker Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rhine Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Dodd Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodd Cemetery
- The Dodd Cemetery has also been known as:
- Dodd Family Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #105420 <2>
- Poplar Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Shane Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Wolfe Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (461 more) ...
- Morris Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cook Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Barton Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
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 Francis in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Francis.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Francis, with the one closest to Francis listed first.
- Broughton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Texas City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Texas City is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas City
- Gossett
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Gossett is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gossett
- Raleigh
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Eldorado
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Walpole
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Walpole is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walpole
- Long Branch
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Long Branch is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Elba
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Elba is located in Gallatin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
- Omaha
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Norris City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Galatia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Olga
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Olga is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olga
- Roland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Roland is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roland
- Hoodville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Hoodville is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoodville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Francis. See our List of 1890's Communities around Francis.
Newspapers Published in Francis ...
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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Francis.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Francis, 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 Francis.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Francis:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Saline County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Gallatin County
- Hamilton County
- Hardin County
- Jefferson County
- Johnson County
- Pope County
- Wayne County
- White County
- Williamson County
- Posey County
- Union 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 Francis, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Francis) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |