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 Holden (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 Holden. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.
Holden is located in Perry 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 Perry County: Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Randolph & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near Holden. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Holden:
- Perry County (The home county of Holden)
- The following are listed by their distance from Holden, with the one closest to Holden listed first.
- Sunfield
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Sunfield is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunfield
- Saint Johns
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Saint Johns is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Du Quoin
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Du Quoin is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Quoin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,591 people
- Tamaroa
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Pyatts
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pyatts is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pyatts
- Pinckneyville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Conant
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Conant is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
- Denmark
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Denmark is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Winkle
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Winkle is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winkle
- Cutler
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Willisville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Holden, with the one closest to Holden listed first.
- Mulkeytown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Coello
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- North City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- North City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 566 people
- Sesser
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Valier
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Christopher
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Buckner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Royalton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Rend City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Rend City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rend City
- Zeigler
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cambon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cambon is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambon
- Plumfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Plumfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
- Hamilton County
- Macedonia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Holden, with the one closest to Holden listed first.
- Dowell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Elkville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Hallidayboro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Hallidayboro is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallidayboro
- Vergennes
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Oraville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- De Soto
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Ava
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Campbell Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Murphysboro
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Carbondale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Degognia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Degognia is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Degognia
- Gorham
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Holden, with the one closest to Holden listed first.
- Emerson City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Emerson City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson City
- Scheller
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Fitzgerrell ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Fitzgerrell is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzgerrell
- Waltonville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dareville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Dareville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dareville
- Nason
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ina
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- 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 <1>
- Bonnie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Roaches
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Roaches is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roaches
- Marcoe
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Marcoe is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcoe
- Woodlawn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jefferson City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jefferson City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson City
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Holden, with the one closest to Holden listed first.
- Percy
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Coulterville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Shiloh Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Shiloh Hill is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh Hill
- Steeleville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Leanderville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Leanderville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leanderville
- Sparta
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Tilden
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Welge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Welge is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welge
- Blair
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Blair is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair
- Rockwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bremen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Houston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Houston is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
- Saint Clair County
- Marissa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Holden, with the one closest to Holden listed first.
- Du Bois
(11 miles [17.7 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
- Posen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Posen is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Posen
- Radom
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Ashley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Oakdale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Nashville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Richview
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Elkton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Elkton is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Irvington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Addieville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hoyleton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Clarmin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Clarmin is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarmin
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Holden, with the one closest to Holden listed first.
- Hurst
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Bush
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bush is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bush
- Population from the 2020 Census: 263 people
- Blairsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Blairsville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsville
- Freeman Spur
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- 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>
- Cambria
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Colp
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- 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
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dewmaine is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewmaine
- Herrin Junction ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Herrin Junction is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrin Junction
- Herrin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Stiritz
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Stiritz is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiritz
- Carterville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Crainville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Crainville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crainville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,419 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Holden, see our County-by-County Page for Holden.
Cemeteries Near Holden ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Holden.
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 Holden - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Holden covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Holden, with the one closest to Holden listed first.
- Sunset Memorial Park
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Jones Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Primitive Baptist Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Ninemile Baptist Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- IOOF Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Haggard Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Lee Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Sacred Heart Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Paradise Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Paradise Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the northeast of Sunfield.
- The Paradise Cemetery has also been known as:
- Paradise Prairie Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2217737 <2>
- McElvain Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Williams Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cudgetown Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (445 more) ...
- Vancil Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Old Du Quoin Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Youngblood 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.<4>
While we didn't find Holden in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Holden.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Holden, with the one closest to Holden listed first.
- Sunfield
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Sunfield is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunfield
- Saint Johns
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Saint Johns is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Du Quoin
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Du Quoin is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Quoin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,591 people
- Denny
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Denny is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denny
- Tamaroa
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Pyatts
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pyatts is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pyatts
- Pinckneyville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Elkville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Mulkeytown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Grubbs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Grubbs is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grubbs
- Vergennes
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Christopher
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Buckner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Fitzgerrell ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Fitzgerrell is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzgerrell
- Conant
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Conant is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Holden. See our List of 1890's Communities around Holden.
Newspapers Published in Holden ...
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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around Holden.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Holden, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Holden.
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 Holden:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Perry County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Hamilton County
- Jackson County
- Jefferson County
- Randolph County
- Saint Clair County
- Washington County
- Williamson 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Holden) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Holden, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |