RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Illinois >> Fulton County >> Howard >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Howard (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 Howard. 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 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.

Howard is located in Fulton 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 Fulton County: Knox, Mason, McDonough, Peoria, Schuyler, Tazewell & Warren.

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

  • Fulton County     (The home county of Howard)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howard, with the one closest to Howard listed first.
    • Ipava
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Summum
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Summum is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summum
    • Sepo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Sepo is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sepo
    • Lewistown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Marbletown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Marbletown is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marbletown
    • Astoria
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Table Grove
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Vermont
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Smithfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Cuba
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Cuba is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,149 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cuba <1>
    • Bryant
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Marietta
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Liverpool
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howard, with the one closest to Howard listed first.
    • Ripley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Ripley is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
    • Cooperstown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Cooperstown is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooperstown
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howard, with the one closest to Howard listed first.
    • Chandlerville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Oak Grove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Oak Grove is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Beardstown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Bluff Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Jules
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Jules is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jules
    • Sylvan ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Sylvan is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan
    • Virginia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Newmansville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Newmansville is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newmansville
    • Burlingame
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Burlingame is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
    • Hagener
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Hagener is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagener
    • Philadelphia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Philadelphia is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philadelphia
  • Knox County
    • Saint Augustine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howard, with the one closest to Howard listed first.
    • Havana
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Bath
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Buzzville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Buzzville is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buzzville
    • Snicarte
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Snicarte is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snicarte
    • Long Branch
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Long Branch is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
    • Goofy Ridge
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Goofy Ridge is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goofy Ridge
    • Poplar City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Topeka
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • White City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • White City is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Kilbourne
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Easton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Forest City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Forest City is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
    • Union
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Union is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
  • McDonough County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howard, with the one closest to Howard listed first.
    • Adair
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • New Philadelphia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • New Philadelphia is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Philadelphia
    • Industry
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Bardolph
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Bushnell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Doddsville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Doddsville is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doddsville
    • Prairie City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Prairie City is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
    • East Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • East Village is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
    • University Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • University Village is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Village
    • Lamone Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Lamone Village is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamone Village
    • Macomb
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Macomb is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macomb
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,206 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Macomb <1>
    • Good Hope
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Colchester
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Menard County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howard, with the one closest to Howard listed first.
    • Oakford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Petersburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Peoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howard, with the one closest to Howard listed first.
    • Glasford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Kingston Mines
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Schuyler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howard, with the one closest to Howard listed first.
    • Bluff City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Bluff City is located in Schuyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
    • Bader
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bader is located in Schuyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bader
    • Browning
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Frederick
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Littleton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Rushville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Wayland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Wayland is located in Schuyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
    • Camden
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Tazewell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howard, with the one closest to Howard listed first.
    • Radville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Radville is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radville
    • Parkland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Parkland is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkland
    • Talbott
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Talbott is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talbott
  • Warren County
    • Youngstown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Youngstown is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngstown

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

Cemeteries Near Howard ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Howard.

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

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

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

  • Howard Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Danner Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Lacey Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Montgomery Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Hart Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Otto Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Freeman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Ipava Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Old Ipava Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Summum Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Union Chapel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (421 more) ...
    • Summum Sixteen Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Kearney Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Providence Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)

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 Howard in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Howard.

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

  • Ipava
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Summum
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Summum is located in Fulton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summum
  • Bernadotte ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bernadotte is located in Fulton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bernadotte
  • Leesburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Leesburg is located in Fulton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesburg
  • Marbletown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Marbletown is located in Fulton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marbletown
  • Sepo
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Sepo is located in Fulton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sepo
  • Lewistown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Vermont
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Astoria
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Table Grove
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Bluff City
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Bluff City is located in Schuyler County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
  • Smithfield
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Bader
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bader is located in Schuyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bader
    • Sheldons Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Sheldons Grove is located in Schuyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheldons Grove
    • Seville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Seville is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seville

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

Newspapers Published in Howard ...

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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Howard.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Howard, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Howard.

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 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 Howard:

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 Howard, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Howard) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.