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 Harrison (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 Harrison. 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 southwest 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 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.
Harrison is located in Jackson 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 Jackson County: Franklin, Perry, Randolph, Union, Williamson & Perry (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Harrison. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Harrison:
- Jackson County (The home county of Harrison)
- The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
- Murphysboro
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Oraville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- De Soto
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Vergennes
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Hallidayboro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hallidayboro is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallidayboro
- Carbondale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Elkville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Gorham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ava
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dowell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pomona
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Jacob
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Campbell Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
- Royalton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mulkeytown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Zeigler
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cambon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Cambon is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambon
- Plumfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Plumfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
- Christopher
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Coello
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- North City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- North City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 566 people
- Buckner
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Orient
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Valier
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- West Frankfort
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- West Frankfort is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Frankfort
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,733 people
- Rend City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Rend City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rend City
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
- Emerson City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Emerson City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson City
- Fitzgerrell ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Fitzgerrell is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzgerrell
- Scheller
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
- Deer Ridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
- Eagle Point Bay
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Eagle Point Bay is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point Bay
- Goreville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Egyptian Hills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Egyptian Hills is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egyptian Hills
- Buncombe
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
- Pyatts
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Pyatts is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pyatts
- Du Quoin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Du Quoin is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Quoin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,591 people
- Denmark
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Denmark is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Saint Johns
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Saint Johns is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Willisville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Pinckneyville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Sunfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Sunfield is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunfield
- Conant
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Conant is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
- Cutler
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Tamaroa
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Winkle
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Winkle is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winkle
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
- Shiloh Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Shiloh Hill is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh Hill
- Rockwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Leanderville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Leanderville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leanderville
- Percy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Steeleville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Welge
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Welge is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welge
- Bremen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Blair
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Blair is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair
- Chester
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Menard
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- New Palestine
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- New Palestine is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Palestine
- Coulterville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sparta
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
- Alto Pass
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Cobden
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Water Valley
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Water Valley is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Wolf Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Anna
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Lick Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Jonesboro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Dutch Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Dutch Mills is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Mills
- Mount Pleasant
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Reynoldsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Reynoldsville is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
- Washington County
- Du Bois
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Du Bois is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Bois
- Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
- Hurst
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Blairsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Blairsville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsville
- Bush
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Bush is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bush
- Population from the 2020 Census: 263 people
- Cambria
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Carterville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Colp
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- 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>
- Dewmaine
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Dewmaine is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewmaine
- Crainville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Crainville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crainville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,419 people
- Herrin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Energy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Herrin Junction ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Herrin Junction is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrin Junction
- Freeman Spur
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- 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
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Stiritz is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiritz
- Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
- Old Appleton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Old Appleton is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Appleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
- Shawneetown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Shawneetown is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawneetown
- Leemon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Leemon is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemon
- Pocahontas
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Ridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Friedheim
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Perry County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
- Altenburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Brazeau
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Brazeau is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazeau
- Frohna
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Frohna is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frohna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Farrar
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Farrar is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrar
- Eureka
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Eureka is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Uniontown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Uniontown is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Longtown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Longtown is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longtown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
- McBride
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- McBride is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBride
- Sereno
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Sereno is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sereno
- Lithium
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Lithium is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithium
- Perryville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Biehle
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Biehle is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biehle
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Harrison, see our County-by-County Page for Harrison.
Cemeteries Near Harrison ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Harrison.
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 Harrison - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Harrison covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
- Boucher Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Tower Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Grove Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Tower Grove Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Murphysboro.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #108559 <2>
- St. Andrews Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Murphysboro City Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Lutheran Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Ripley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Worthen Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Carbon Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Murdale Gardens of Memory
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Zion Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Grove Memorial Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hall Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (416 more) ...
- Beasley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- De Soto Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Harrison had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
- Grange Hall
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Grange Hall is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grange Hall
- Murphysboro
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Oraville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Sand Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sand Ridge is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Ridge
- De Soto
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Vergennes
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Carbondale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Elkville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sato
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sato is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sato
- Grubbs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Grubbs is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grubbs
- Boskydell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Boskydell is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boskydell
- Ava
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Pomona
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Blairsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Blairsville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsville
- Fredonia ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Fredonia is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Harrison. See our List of 1890's Communities around Harrison.
Newspapers Published in Harrison ...
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 128 newspapers that have been published in the area around Harrison.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Harrison, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Harrison.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Harrison:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Jackson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Jefferson County
- Johnson County
- Perry County
- Randolph County
- Union County
- Washington County
- Williamson County
- Cape Girardeau County
- Perry 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 Harrison, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Harrison) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |