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 Frankfort (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 Frankfort. 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.
Name Variations for Frankfort ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
In past government published Postal Guides, Frankfort was referred to as Frankfort Courthouse.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Frankfort. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Frankfort.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.
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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Frankfort is located in Franklin 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 Franklin County: Hamilton, Jackson, Jefferson, Perry, Saline & Williamson.
Below are the counties that are near Frankfort. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Frankfort:
- Franklin County (The home county of Frankfort)
- The following are listed by their distance from Frankfort, with the one closest to Frankfort listed first.
- Deering City
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Deering City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deering City
- West Frankfort
(Less than 2 miles 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
- Orient
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Fitt's Hill ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Fitt's Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitt's Hill
- Hanaford
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Hanaford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanaford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
- Parrish
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Parrish is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Smothersville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Smothersville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
- Cambon
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Cambon is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambon
- Plumfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Plumfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
- Steel City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Steel City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steel City
- Thompsonville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Benton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Frankfort, with the one closest to Frankfort listed first.
- Macedonia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Flint
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Flint is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
- Walpole
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Walpole is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walpole
- Lovilla
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lovilla is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovilla
- Dale
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Dahlgren
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Diamond City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Diamond City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond City
- Broughton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- McLeansboro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Piopolis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Piopolis is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piopolis
- Belle Prairie City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Belle Prairie City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Prairie City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
- Jefferson City ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jefferson City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson City
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Frankfort, with the one closest to Frankfort listed first.
- De Soto
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Dowell
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Elkville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Hallidayboro
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Hallidayboro is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallidayboro
- Carbondale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Vergennes
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Makanda
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Murphysboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Oraville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Pomona
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Frankfort, with the one closest to Frankfort listed first.
- Fitzgerrell ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Fitzgerrell is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzgerrell
- Ina
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- 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>
- Emerson City
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Emerson City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson City
- Nason
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Bonnie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Dareville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Dareville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dareville
- Waltonville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Scheller
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Belle Rive
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Marcoe
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Marcoe is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcoe
- Opdyke
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Mount Vernon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Frankfort, with the one closest to Frankfort listed first.
- Eagle Point Bay
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Eagle Point Bay is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point Bay
- Egyptian Hills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Egyptian Hills is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egyptian Hills
- Deer Ridge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
- New Burnside
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Goreville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Ozark
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Reynoldsburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Reynoldsburg is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsburg
- Buncombe
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Simpson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Frankfort, with the one closest to Frankfort listed first.
- Du Quoin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- 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
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Johns is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Sunfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sunfield is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunfield
- Tamaroa
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Pyatts
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Pyatts is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pyatts
- Pinckneyville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pope County
- McCormick
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- McCormick is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCormick
- Saline County
- The following are listed by their distance from Frankfort, with the one closest to Frankfort listed first.
- Cornerville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Cornerville is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornerville
- Galatia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Long Branch
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Long Branch is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Raleigh
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Carrier Mills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Carrier Mills is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrier Mills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,527 people
- Former names for Carrier Mills:
- Carriers Mills
- Morrilsville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carrier Mills <1>
- Buena Vista
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Buena Vista is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Ledford
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ledford is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledford
- Liberty
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Harrisburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Stonefort
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Gaskins City
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Gaskins City is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaskins City
- Muddy
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Frankfort, with the one closest to Frankfort listed first.
- Lick Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Water Valley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Water Valley is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Frankfort, with the one closest to Frankfort listed first.
- Du Bois
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Du Bois is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Bois
- Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
- Radom
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Frankfort, with the one closest to Frankfort listed first.
- Johnston City
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Freeman Spur
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- 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>
- Stiritz
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Stiritz is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiritz
- Whiteash
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Whiteash is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteash
- Estimated population in 2014: 240 people
- Herrin Junction ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Herrin Junction is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrin Junction
- Pittsburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Corinth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Corinth is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Spillertown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Spillertown is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spillertown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Herrin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Energy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Marion
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Colp
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- 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 <1>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Frankfort, see our County-by-County Page for Frankfort.
Cemeteries Near Frankfort ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Frankfort.
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 Frankfort - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Frankfort covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Frankfort, with the one closest to Frankfort listed first.
- Tower Heights Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Heights Cemetery
- The Tower Heights Cemetery has also been known as:
- Tower Height Cemetery
- Trinity Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Oddfellow Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Clayton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Lithuanian Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- County Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bonner Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Boner Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boner Cemetery
- The Boner Cemetery has also been known as:
- Boner Chapel Cemetery
- Joplin Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Neal Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Hanes Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Continue List (494 more) ...
- Follis Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Neal Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Denning Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Frankfort had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Frankfort, with the one closest to Frankfort listed first.
- Fitt's Hill ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Fitt's Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitt's Hill
- Parrish
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Parrish is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Smothersville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Smothersville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
- Plumfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Plumfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
- Thompsonville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Benton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Corinth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Corinth is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Buckner
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Locust Grove ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Locust Grove is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
- Christopher
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- West End
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- West End is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West End
- Akin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Marion
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Attila
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Attila is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attila
- Bainbridge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bainbridge is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainbridge
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Frankfort. See our List of 1890's Communities around Frankfort.
Newspapers Published in Frankfort ...
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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Frankfort.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Frankfort, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Frankfort.
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 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 Frankfort:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Franklin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hamilton County
- Jackson County
- Jefferson County
- Johnson County
- Perry County
- Pope County
- Saline County
- Union County
- Washington County
- Williamson 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 Frankfort, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Frankfort) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |