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 Hillsboro Heights (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 Hillsboro Heights. 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 Hillsboro Heights ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Hillsboro Heights: Hillsboro Hts. (in Canada, 'Hgts.' is the more common abbreviation.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Hillsboro Heights. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Hillsboro Heights.
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 northwest 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 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.
Hillsboro Heights is located in Montgomery 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 Montgomery County: Bond, Christian, Fayette, Macoupin, Madison, Sangamon & Shelby.
Below are the counties that are near Hillsboro Heights. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hillsboro Heights:
- Montgomery County (The home county of Hillsboro Heights)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro Heights, with the one closest to Hillsboro Heights listed first.
- Hillsboro
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Schram City
(Less than 2 miles 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
- Taylor Springs
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Butler
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Irving
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Coffeen
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Donnellson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Panama
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Chapman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Chapman is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapman
- Witt
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Walshville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Litchfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bond County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro Heights, with the one closest to Hillsboro Heights listed first.
- Sorento
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Reno
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Reno is located in Bond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
- Old Ripley
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Old Ripley is located in Bond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Ripley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Greenville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Mulberry Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Smithboro
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pocahontas
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Mound
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Mound is located in Bond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Mound
- Pierron
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Christian County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro Heights, with the one closest to Hillsboro Heights listed first.
- Morrisonville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Palmer
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Clarksdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Clarksdale is located in Christian County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksdale
- Rosamond
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Zenobia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Zenobia is located in Christian County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenobia
- Millersville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Millersville is located in Christian County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersville
- Pana
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Owaneco
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Langleyville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Langleyville is located in Christian County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langleyville
- Velma
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Velma is located in Christian County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Velma
- Jeisyville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Jeisyville is located in Christian County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeisyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
- Taylorville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Clinton County
- Keyesport
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro Heights, with the one closest to Hillsboro Heights listed first.
- Bingham
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Bayle City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Bayle City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayle City
- Ramsey
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Hagarstown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dressor
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Dressor is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dressor
- Vandalia
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bluff City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bluff City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Shobonier
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brownstown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Macoupin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro Heights, with the one closest to Hillsboro Heights listed first.
- Mount Olive
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hornsby
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Hornsby is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornsby
- Lake Ka-ho
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- 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
- Eagarville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- White City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- White City is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 230 people
- Benld
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- East Gillespie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- East Gillespie is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gillespie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 259 people
- Gillespie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Sawyerville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Mount Clare
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Mount Clare is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Clare
- Population from the 2020 Census: 262 people
- Staunton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Wilsonville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro Heights, with the one closest to Hillsboro Heights listed first.
- New Douglas
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Livingston
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Williamson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Alhambra
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Grantfork
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Grantfork is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantfork
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Worden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hamel
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Prairietown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Prairietown is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairietown
- Highland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Dorsey
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fruit
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fruit is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruit
- Marine
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sangamon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro Heights, with the one closest to Hillsboro Heights listed first.
- Divernon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Pawnee
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Thayer
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro Heights, with the one closest to Hillsboro Heights listed first.
- Oconee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Herrick
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hillsboro Heights, see our County-by-County Page for Hillsboro Heights.
Cemeteries Near Hillsboro Heights ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hillsboro Heights.
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 Hillsboro Heights - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hillsboro Heights covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hillsboro Heights, with the one closest to Hillsboro Heights listed first.
- Bluffs Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Cress Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- St. Agnes Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- County Farm Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Mansfield Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- McCord Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Butler Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Clear Springs Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hopewell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Waveland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Edwards Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (348 more) ...
- Ware's Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- McDavid Point Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- King Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
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>
While we didn't find Hillsboro Heights in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Hillsboro Heights.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hillsboro Heights, with the one closest to Hillsboro Heights listed first.
- Hillsboro
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Butler
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Irving
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Coffeen
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Donnellson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Walshville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Chapman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Chapman is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapman
- Litchfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Honey Bend
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Honey Bend is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Bend
- Sorento
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fillmore
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Reno
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Reno is located in Bond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Raymond
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Shop Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Shop Creek is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shop Creek
- Barnett
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Barnett is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnett
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hillsboro Heights. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hillsboro Heights.
Newspapers Published in Hillsboro Heights ...
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 101 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hillsboro Heights.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hillsboro Heights, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hillsboro Heights.
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 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 Hillsboro Heights:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Montgomery County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bond County
- Christian County
- Clinton County
- Fayette County
- Macoupin County
- Madison County
- Sangamon County
- Shelby 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 Hillsboro Heights, 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- Hillsboro Heights) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |