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Home >> State of Illinois >> Jefferson County >> Harris Grove >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Harris Grove. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Harris Grove to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Harris Grove, please Contact Us.


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 Harris Grove (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 Harris Grove. 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 Harris Grove ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Harris Grove: Harris Grv.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Harris Grove. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Harris Grove.

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.

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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Harris Grove is historic, it would have been located within present day Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Franklin, Hamilton, Marion, Perry, Washington & Wayne.

Below are the counties that are near Harris Grove. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Harris Grove:

  • Jefferson County     (The home county of Harris Grove)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harris Grove, with the one closest to Harris Grove listed first.
    • Belle Rive
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Opdyke
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Bonnie
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Marlow
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Marlow is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlow
    • Ina
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • 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 <2>
    • Bluford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Markham City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Markham City is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markham City
    • Summersville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Summersville is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summersville
    • Mount Vernon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Nason
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Nason is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nason
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nason <2>
    • Dareville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Dareville is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dareville
    • Marcoe
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Marcoe is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcoe
    • Pigeon ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Pigeon is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
  • Clay County
    • Xenia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Clinton County
    • Centralia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harris Grove, with the one closest to Harris Grove listed first.
    • Frisco
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Frisco is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frisco
    • Taylor Hill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Taylor Hill is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Hill
    • Ewing
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Whittington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Steel City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Steel City is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steel City
    • Benton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Akin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Rend City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Rend City is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rend City
    • Sesser
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • West City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • West City is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 626 people
    • Hanaford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Hanaford is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanaford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
    • Smothersville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Smothersville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
    • Parrish
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Parrish is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harris Grove, with the one closest to Harris Grove listed first.
    • Dahlgren
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Lovilla
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Lovilla is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovilla
    • Belle Prairie City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Belle Prairie City is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Prairie City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
    • Piopolis
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Piopolis is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piopolis
    • Macedonia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Flint
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Flint is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
    • Diamond City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Diamond City is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond City
    • McLeansboro
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jefferson City ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Jefferson City is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson City
    • Bungay
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Bungay is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bungay
    • Dale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Walpole
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Walpole is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walpole
    • Broughton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harris Grove, with the one closest to Harris Grove listed first.
    • Hickory Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Hickory Hill is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hill
    • Kell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Union Town
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Union Town is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Town
    • Walnut Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Cartter
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Cartter is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartter
    • Bannister
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Bannister is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bannister
    • Iuka
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Salem
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Central City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Central City is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,107 people
    • Junction City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Junction City is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 468 people
    • Odin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Odin is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,004 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Odin <2>
  • Perry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harris Grove, with the one closest to Harris Grove listed first.
    • Tamaroa
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Sunfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Sunfield is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunfield
    • Saint Johns
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Johns is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Du Quoin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Du Quoin is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Quoin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,591 people
  • Saline County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harris Grove, with the one closest to Harris Grove listed first.
    • Cornerville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Cornerville is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornerville
    • Long Branch
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Long Branch is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
    • Galatia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Raleigh
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harris Grove, with the one closest to Harris Grove listed first.
    • Ashley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Du Bois
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Du Bois is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Bois
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
    • Radom
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Radom is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radom
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Radom <2>
    • Richview
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Baldwin Heights
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Baldwin Heights is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin Heights
    • Irvington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Wamac
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Wamac is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wamac
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,117 people
    • Posen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Posen is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Posen
    • Hoyleton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harris Grove, with the one closest to Harris Grove listed first.
    • Keenes
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Wayne City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Sims
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Boyleston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Boyleston is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyleston
    • Barnhill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Fairfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Johnsonville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Geff
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jeffersonville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jeffersonville is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeffersonville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 350 people
    • Cisne
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Rinard
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • White County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harris Grove, with the one closest to Harris Grove listed first.
    • Springerton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Mill Shoals
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Enfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Burnt Prairie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Norris City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Williamson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harris Grove, with the one closest to Harris Grove listed first.
    • Corinth
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Corinth is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
    • Stiritz
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Stiritz is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiritz
    • Freeman Spur
      (27 miles [43.5 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 <2>
    • Johnston City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Hartford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Hartford is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
    • Herrin Junction ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Herrin Junction is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrin Junction
    • Pittsburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Whiteash
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Whiteash is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteash
      • Estimated population in 2014: 240 people

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Harris Grove, see our County-by-County Page for Harris Grove.

Cemeteries Near Harris Grove ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Harris Grove.

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 Harris Grove - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Harris Grove covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Harris Grove, with the one closest to Harris Grove listed first.

  • Rentchler Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Richardson Farm Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Grothoff Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • New Hope Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Opdyke Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Warren Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Hams Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Round Knob Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Wall Farm Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Flint Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (454 more) ...
    • Arnold Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • McKinney Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Wilbanks Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)

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.

While we didn't find Harris Grove in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Harris Grove.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Harris Grove, with the one closest to Harris Grove listed first.

  • Belle Rive
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Opdyke
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Spring Garden
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Spring Garden is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
  • Dahlgren
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Taylor Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Taylor Hill is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Hill
  • Marlow
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Marlow is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlow
  • Bluford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Ewing
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Mount Vernon
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Delafield
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Delafield is located in Hamilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delafield
  • Keenes
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Macedonia
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Piopolis
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Piopolis is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piopolis
    • Pigeon ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Pigeon is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
    • Fitzgerrell ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Fitzgerrell is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzgerrell

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Harris Grove. See our List of 1890's Communities around Harris Grove.

Newspapers Published in Harris Grove ...

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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Harris Grove.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Harris Grove, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Harris Grove.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Harris Grove:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Harris Grove, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Harris Grove) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.