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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 Hilltop (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 Hilltop. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Hilltop is located in Menard 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 Menard County: Cass, Logan, Mason & Sangamon.

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

  • Menard County     (The home county of Hilltop)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
    • Petersburg
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Tallula
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Oakford
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenview
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Athens
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Croft
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Croft is located in Menard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croft
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
    • Newmansville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Newmansville is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newmansville
    • Sylvan ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Sylvan is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan
    • Ashland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Gurney ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Gurney is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gurney
    • Philadelphia
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Philadelphia is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philadelphia
    • Chandlerville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Burlingame
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Burlingame is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
    • Old Princeton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Old Princeton is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Princeton
    • Virginia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Jules
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Jules is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jules
    • Bluff Springs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Arenzville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Hagener
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Hagener is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagener
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
    • Marbletown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Marbletown is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marbletown
    • Sepo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Sepo is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sepo
    • Liverpool
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Summum
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Summum is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summum
    • Astoria
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Lewistown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
    • Middletown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • New Holland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Elkhart
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Broadwell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Broadwell is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadwell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
    • Cornland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Emden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Hartsburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Fork
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Lincoln
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Bell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Bell is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
    • Chestervale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Chestervale is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestervale
    • Evans
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Evans is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
    • Kilbourne
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • White City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • White City is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Easton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Teheran
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Teheran is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teheran
    • Poplar City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Mason City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Long Branch
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Long Branch is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
    • Bath
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Snicarte
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Snicarte is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snicarte
    • Topeka
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Natrona
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Natrona is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natrona
    • Havana
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Buzzville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Buzzville is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buzzville
  • Morgan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
    • Prentice
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Prentice is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prentice
    • Literberry
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Alexander
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Arcadia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Arcadia is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
    • Arnold
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Arnold is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
    • Jacksonville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Pisgah
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Pisgah is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
    • Franklin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Concord
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • South Jacksonville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • South Jacksonville is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Jacksonville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,075 people
    • Waverly
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Sangamon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
    • Pleasant Plains
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Salisbury
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Salisbury is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
    • Cantrall
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Williamsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Pasfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Pasfield is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pasfield
    • Sherman
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Berlin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Berlin is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
    • Ridgely
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Ridgely is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgely
    • Grandview
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Grandview is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,369 people
    • Leland Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Leland Grove is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,451 people
    • Curran
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Curran is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curran
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Hawthorne Place
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Hawthorne Place is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawthorne Place
    • Jerome
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jerome is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,575 people
  • Schuyler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
    • Bluff City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Bluff City is located in Schuyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
    • Bader
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Bader is located in Schuyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bader
    • Browning
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Frederick
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Tazewell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
    • Winkel ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Winkel is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winkel
    • Delavan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Green Valley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Parkland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Parkland is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkland

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

Cemeteries Near Hilltop ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hilltop.

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 Hilltop - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Park Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Old Concord Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Hash Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Oakland Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Petersburg Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Atterberry Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Concord Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Baker Prairie #2 Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Shipley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Baker Prairie #1 Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (345 more) ...
    • Smoot Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Watkins Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • White Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)

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>

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

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

  • Petersburg
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Hill Top
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Hill Top is located in Menard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Top
  • Atterberry
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Atterberry is located in Menard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atterberry
  • Tice
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Tice is located in Menard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tice
  • Curtis
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Curtis is located in Menard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis
  • Tallula
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Newmansville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Newmansville is located in Cass County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newmansville
  • Loyd
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Loyd is located in Menard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyd
  • Oakford
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Greenview
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Athens
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Sweet Water
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Sweet Water is located in Menard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Water
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Sylvan ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Sylvan is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan
    • Pleasant Plains
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Salisbury
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Salisbury is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury

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

Newspapers Published in Hilltop ...

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 180 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hilltop.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hilltop, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hilltop.

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 websites either 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 Hilltop:

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 Hilltop, 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- Hilltop) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.