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 Grand Chain (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 Grand Chain. 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 doctors 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.
Grand Chain is located in Pulaski 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 Pulaski County: Alexander, Johnson, Massac, Union & Ballard (KY).
Below are the counties that are near Grand Chain. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Grand Chain:
- Pulaski County (The home county of Grand Chain)
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Chain, with the one closest to Grand Chain listed first.
- New Grand Chain
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Karnak
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Perks
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Olmsted
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ullin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Pulaski
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Villa Ridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Villa Ridge is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Ridge
- Mound City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mounds
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mounds is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mounds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
- Alexander County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Chain, with the one closest to Grand Chain listed first.
- Elco
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Tamms
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Hodges Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hodges Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges Park
- Unity
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cache
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Frog City ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Frog City is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog City
- Diswood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Diswood is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diswood
- Cairo Junction
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cairo Junction is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo Junction
- Future City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Future City is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Future City
- Cairo
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Olive Branch
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Miller City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- McClure
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Jackson County
- Makanda
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Chain, with the one closest to Grand Chain listed first.
- Belknap
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cypress
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Bender ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bender is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bender
- Vienna
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Buncombe
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Wartrace
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wartrace is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartrace
- Reevesville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Reevesville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reevesville
- Grantsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Simpson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Goreville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Deer Ridge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
- Reynoldsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Reynoldsburg is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsburg
- Eagle Point Bay
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Eagle Point Bay is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point Bay
- Massac County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Chain, with the one closest to Grand Chain listed first.
- Joppa
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- New Columbia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- New Columbia is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Columbia
- Big Bay
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Big Bay is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bay
- Metropolis
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Massac City
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Massac City is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massac City
- Brookport
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Shady Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Shady Grove is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Unionville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Unionville is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- Pope County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Chain, with the one closest to Grand Chain listed first.
- Dixon Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Dixon Springs is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon Springs
- Glendale
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Glendale is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Rock
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Rock is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
- Bay City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Bay City is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay City
- McCormick
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- McCormick is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCormick
- Eddyville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Golconda
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Saline County
- Stonefort
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Chain, with the one closest to Grand Chain listed first.
- Dongola
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Pleasant
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Mill Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mill Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Dutch Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dutch Mills is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Mills
- Lick Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Anna
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Jonesboro
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Reynoldsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Reynoldsville is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
- Water Valley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Water Valley is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Cobden
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Alto Pass
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wolf Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Chain, with the one closest to Grand Chain listed first.
- Lake Crest
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Lake Crest is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Crest
- Creal Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Ballard County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Chain, with the one closest to Grand Chain listed first.
- Bandana
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bandana is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandana
- La Center
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Barlow
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Barlow is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 628 people
- Kevil
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ceredo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ceredo is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceredo
- Gage
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Gage is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gage
- Wickliffe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Blandville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Blandville is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blandville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
- Lovelaceville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lovelaceville is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovelaceville
- Carlisle County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Chain, with the one closest to Grand Chain listed first.
- Cunningham
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Bardwell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Kirbyton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Kirbyton is located in Carlisle County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbyton
- Graves County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Chain, with the one closest to Grand Chain listed first.
- Melber
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Melber is located in Graves County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melber
- Lowes
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lowes is located in Graves County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowes
- McCracken County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Chain, with the one closest to Grand Chain listed first.
- Ragland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ragland is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragland
- Woodville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Woodville is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Cimota City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cimota City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cimota City
- Grahamville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Grahamville is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahamville
- Future City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Future City
- West Future City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- West Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Future City
- West Paducah
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Camelia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Camelia is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelia
- Massac
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Massac is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massac
- Lone Oak
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lone Oak is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Oak
- Paducah
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hendron
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hendron is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendron
- Krebs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Krebs is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krebs
- Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Cape Girardeau
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Mississippi County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Chain, with the one closest to Grand Chain listed first.
- Greenfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Greenfield is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Wyatt
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Wyatt is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Wilson City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wilson City is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
- Charleston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Charleston is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,015 people
- Scott County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Chain, with the one closest to Grand Chain listed first.
- Commerce
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Scott City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Kelso
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Diehlstadt
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Diehlstadt is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diehlstadt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Grand Chain, see our County-by-County Page for Grand Chain.
Cemeteries Near Grand Chain ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Grand Chain.
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 Grand Chain - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Grand Chain covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Grand Chain, with the one closest to Grand Chain listed first.
- Grand Chain Masonic Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Waters Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Forestview Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Ohio Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Weese Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bethlehem Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Calvin Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Holman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- West Eden Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Cache Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (465 more) ...
- Concord Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hitchcock Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mosley Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Grand Chain had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Grand Chain, with the one closest to Grand Chain listed first.
- New Grand Chain
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Olmsted
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Belknap
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Oscar
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Oscar is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oscar
- Hillerman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Hillerman is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillerman
- Boaz
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Boaz is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boaz
- Bandana
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bandana is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandana
- Grinnell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Grinnell is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grinnell
- America
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- America is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for America
- Ragland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ragland is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragland
- Wetaug
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wetaug is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wetaug
- Ullin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Pulaski
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Joppa
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Dongola
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Grand Chain. See our List of 1890's Communities around Grand Chain.
Newspapers Published in Grand Chain ...
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 76 newspapers that have been published in the area around Grand Chain.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Grand Chain, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Grand Chain.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Grand Chain:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Pulaski County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alexander County
- Jackson County
- Johnson County
- Massac County
- Pope County
- Saline County
- Union County
- Williamson County
- Ballard County
- Carlisle County
- Graves County
- McCracken County
- Cape Girardeau County
- Mississippi County
- Scott 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> | 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 Grand Chain, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Grand Chain) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |