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 Hamel (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 Hamel. 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.
Hamel 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 Hamel. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hamel:
- Madison County (The home county of Hamel)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hamel, with the one closest to Hamel listed first.
- Worden
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Fruit
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Fruit is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruit
- Alhambra
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Livingston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Prairietown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Prairietown is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairietown
- Williamson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Marine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Edwardsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Moro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- New Douglas
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dorsey
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Grantfork
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Grantfork is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantfork
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Bethalto
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Bond County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hamel, with the one closest to Hamel listed first.
- Old Ripley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Old Ripley is located in Bond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Ripley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Pierron
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pocahontas
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Sorento
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Reno
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Reno is located in Bond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
- Greenville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Smithboro
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Mound
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Mound is located in Bond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Mound
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hamel, with the one closest to Hamel listed first.
- Saint Rose
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Rose is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Rose
- Aviston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Trenton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- New Baden
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Breese
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Albers
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Damiansville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Damiansville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damiansville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 484 people
- Germantown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Marydale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Marydale is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marydale
- New Memphis
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Beckemeyer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jersey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hamel, with the one closest to Hamel listed first.
- Delhi
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Delhi is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
- Fidelity
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Elsah
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- McClusky
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- McClusky is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClusky
- Dow
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Chautauqua
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Chautauqua is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
- Jerseyville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Macoupin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hamel, with the one closest to Hamel listed first.
- Staunton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Bunker Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wilsonville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Dorchester
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Dorchester is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Sawyerville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- White City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- White City is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 230 people
- Benld
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Mount Clare
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Mount Clare is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Clare
- Population from the 2020 Census: 262 people
- Mount Olive
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Eagarville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Lake Ka-ho
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Lake Ka-ho is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ka-ho
- Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
- Lake Ka-ho has also been known as:
- Lake Ka-Ho village
- Gillespie
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Royal Lakes
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hamel, with the one closest to Hamel listed first.
- Walshville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Panama
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Donnellson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Litchfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Taylor Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Butler
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Coffeen
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Honey Bend
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Honey Bend is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Bend
- Schram City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Schram City is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schram City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 542 people
- Shop Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Shop Creek is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shop Creek
- Hillsboro
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hamel, with the one closest to Hamel listed first.
- Lebanon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- O'Fallon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Petersburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Petersburg is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Summerfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Caseyville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Bunkum
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bunkum is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunkum
- Fairmont City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fairmont City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,439 people
- French Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- French Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Village
- Washington Park
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Washington Park is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,831 people
- Shiloh
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Brooklyn
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Brooklyn is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 687 people
- East Saint Louis
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Charles County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hamel, with the one closest to Hamel listed first.
- West Alton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Portage Des Sioux
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Saint Louis City (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hamel, with the one closest to Hamel listed first.
- Baden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Baden is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
- Saint Louis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cheltenham
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cheltenham is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheltenham
- Tower Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Tower Grove is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Grove
- University City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- 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
- Saint Louis County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hamel, with the one closest to Hamel listed first.
- Glasgow Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Glasgow Village is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow Village
- Spanish Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Spanish Lake is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spanish Lake
- Bellefontaine Neighbors
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- 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
- Riverview
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Riverview is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,821 people
- Castle Point
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Castle Point is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Point
- Moline Acres
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- 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
- Black Jack
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- 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
- Flordell Hills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Flordell Hills is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flordell Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 800 people
- Jennings
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jennings is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,644 people
- Dellwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Dellwood is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,994 people
- Country Club Hills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Country Club Hills is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,245 people
- Calverton Park
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- 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
- Ferguson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Ferguson is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,457 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hamel, see our County-by-County Page for Hamel.
Cemeteries Near Hamel ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hamel.
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 Hamel - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hamel covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hamel, with the one closest to Hamel listed first.
- Hamel Immanuel Evangelical Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Immanuel Evangelical Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Gehlenback Lutheran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Worden Lutheran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worden Lutheran Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Worden Lutheran Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the southwest of Worden.
- The Worden Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
- Worden Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #108592 <2>
- Zion Lutheran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Quercus Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wood Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hoxsey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Meadow View Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- New Hope Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Seybert Family Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (451 more) ...
- Randle Family Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Salem Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem Cemetery
- The Salem Cemetery has also been known as:
- Salem Evangelical Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #108106 <2>
- Belk Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Hamel in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Hamel.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hamel, with the one closest to Hamel listed first.
- Carpenter
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Carpenter is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter
- Kaufman
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Kaufman is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaufman
- Worden
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Fruit
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Fruit is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruit
- Alhambra
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Prairietown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Prairietown is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairietown
- Marine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Edwardsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Staunton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Moro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Grantfork
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Grantfork is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantfork
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- New Douglas
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Dorsey
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bethalto
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Wanda
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Wanda is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wanda
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hamel. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hamel.
Newspapers Published in Hamel ...
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 91 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hamel.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hamel, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hamel.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Hamel:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Madison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bond County
- Clinton County
- Jersey County
- Macoupin County
- Montgomery County
- Saint Clair 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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Hamel) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Hamel, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |