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 Hecker (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 Hecker. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.
Hecker is located in Monroe 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 Monroe County: Randolph, Saint Clair, Jefferson (MO), Saint Louis (MO) & Sainte Genevieve (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Hecker. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hecker:
- Monroe County (The home county of Hecker)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hecker, with the one closest to Hecker listed first.
- Burksville Station
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Burksville Station is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville Station
- Burksville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Burksville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville
- Waterloo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Wartburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Wartburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartburg
- Renault
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Foster Pond ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Foster Pond is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Pond
- Madonnaville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Madonnaville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madonnaville
- Maeystown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fults
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Monroe City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Monroe City is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe City
- Valmeyer
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Columbia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Chalfin Bridge
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Chalfin Bridge is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalfin Bridge
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hecker, with the one closest to Hecker listed first.
- New Memphis
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- New Baden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Damiansville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Damiansville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damiansville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 484 people
- Albers
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Trenton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Aviston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Germantown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hecker, with the one closest to Hecker listed first.
- Collinsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Madison
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Newport
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Newport is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Venice
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Granite City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Maryville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Pontoon Beach
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Troy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Nameoki
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Nameoki is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nameoki
- Saint Jacob
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hecker, with the one closest to Hecker listed first.
- Winkle
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Winkle is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winkle
- Cutler
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hecker, with the one closest to Hecker listed first.
- Red Bud
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Ruma
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Ruma is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
- Baldwin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Evansville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Houston
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Houston is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
- Preston
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Preston is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
- Prairie du Rocher
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Prairie du Rocher is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie du Rocher
- Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
- Prairie du Rocher has also been known as:
- Prairie du Rocher village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prairie du Rocher <1>
- Walsh
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Walsh is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsh
- Tilden
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Modoc
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Modoc is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modoc
- Ellis Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Sparta
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Blair
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Blair is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hecker, with the one closest to Hecker listed first.
- New Athens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- New Athens is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Athens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,865 people
- Lementon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lementon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lementon
- Smithton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Lenzburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Freeburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fayetteville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Fayetteville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 336 people
- Millstadt
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Marissa
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Belleville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Saint Libory
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Gartside
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Gartside is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gartside
- Mascoutah
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Imbs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Imbs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imbs
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hecker, with the one closest to Hecker listed first.
- Clarmin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Clarmin is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarmin
- Caspars
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Caspars is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caspars
- Venedy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Venedy is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venedy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
- Stone Church
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Stone Church is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Church
- Elkton
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Elkton is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Okawville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Oakdale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Addieville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Jefferson County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hecker, with the one closest to Hecker listed first.
- Kimmswick
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Barnhart
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Crystal City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Flamm City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Flamm City is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flamm City
- Herculaneum
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Imperial
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Pevely
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Pevely is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pevely
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,001 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pevely <1>
- Arnold
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Arnold is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,145 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arnold <1>
- Maxville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Maxville is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxville
- Festus
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Festus is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Festus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,114 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Festus <1>
- Horine
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Horine is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horine
- Mapaville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Mapaville is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapaville
- Hematite
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Hematite is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hematite
- Saint Louis City (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hecker, with the one closest to Hecker listed first.
- Carondelet
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Carondelet is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carondelet
- Saint Louis
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Tower Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Tower Grove is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Grove
- Cheltenham
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cheltenham is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheltenham
- University City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- 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 Hecker, with the one closest to Hecker listed first.
- Oakville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Oakville is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Ivory
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ivory is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivory
- Bella Villa
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bella Villa is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bella Villa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 721 people
- Lemay
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lemay is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemay
- Mattese
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mattese is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattese
- Mehlville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mehlville is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mehlville
- Green Park
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Green Park is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,614 people
- Saint George
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Saint George is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint George
- Estimated population in 2011: 1,336 people
- Affton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Affton is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Affton
- Concord
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Concord is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Lakeshire
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Lakeshire is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeshire
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,385 people
- Wilbur Park
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Wilbur Park is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbur Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
- Grantwood Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Grantwood Village is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantwood Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 855 people
- Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hecker, with the one closest to Hecker listed first.
- Brickeys
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Brickeys is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickeys
- Former names for Brickeys:
- Brickeys Gristmill
- Brickeys Landing
- Clement ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Clement is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clement
- Needmore
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Needmore is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
- Little Rock Landing ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Little Rock Landing is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock Landing
- Sainte Genevieve
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bloomsdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Kinsey
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Kinsey is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinsey
- Marlo ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Marlo is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlo
- Quarry Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Quarry Town is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quarry Town
- Quarry Town has also been known as:
- Quarrytown
- Zell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Zell is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zell
- Lawrenceton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lawrenceton is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceton
- Rocky Ridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rocky Ridge is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge
- New Offenburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- New Offenburg is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Offenburg
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hecker, see our County-by-County Page for Hecker.
Cemeteries Near Hecker ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hecker.
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 Hecker - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hecker covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hecker, with the one closest to Hecker listed first.
- Freedom Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Hecker Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Hirst Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- St. Augustine Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- St. Marcus Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Immanuel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Koch Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Tammora Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Todd Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Leilich Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wiskamp Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Talbot Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (393 more) ...
- Maurer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- St. Michaels Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Brickey Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Hecker had a population of 260 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Hecker had a population of 474 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hecker, with the one closest to Hecker listed first.
- Paderborn
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Paderborn is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paderborn
- Floraville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Floraville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floraville
- Red Bud
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- New Athens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- New Athens is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Athens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,865 people
- Lementon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lementon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lementon
- Burksville Station
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Burksville Station is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville Station
- Smithton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Burksville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Burksville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville
- Waterloo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Lenzburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Freeburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wartburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Wartburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartburg
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Ames
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Ames is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ames
- Ruma
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Ruma is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
- Baldwin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hecker. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hecker.
Newspapers Published in Hecker ...
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 142 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hecker.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hecker, 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 Hecker.
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 Hecker:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Monroe County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clinton County
- Madison County
- Perry County
- Randolph County
- Saint Clair County
- Washington County
- Jefferson County
- Saint Louis City
- Saint Louis County
- Sainte Genevieve 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 Hecker, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 from Point A (ie- Hecker) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |