Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Howards Point. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Howards Point to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Howards Point, please Contact Us.
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 Howards Point (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 Howards Point. 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 Howards Point ...
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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Howards Point: Howards Pt.
- While the name of this community is Howards Point, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<2>. So Howards Point may originally have been Howard's Point.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Howards Point might be written as Howard Point.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Howards Point is historic, it would have been located within present day Fayette 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 Fayette County: Bond, Clay, Clinton, Effingham, Marion, Montgomery & Shelby.
Below are the counties that are near Howards Point. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Howards Point:
- Fayette County (The home county of Howards Point)
- The following are listed by their distance from Howards Point, with the one closest to Howards Point listed first.
- Saint Elmo
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Avena
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Avena is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avena
- Brownstown
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Loogootee
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Saint Peter
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bluff City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Bluff City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- La Clede
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- La Clede is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Clede
- Saint Paul
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Paul is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
- Holliday
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Holliday is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holliday
- Farina
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Vandalia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Dressor
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dressor is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dressor
- Bond County
- The following are listed by their distance from Howards Point, with the one closest to Howards Point listed first.
- Mulberry Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Mound
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Mound is located in Bond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Mound
- Smithboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Greenville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Christian County
- The following are listed by their distance from Howards Point, with the one closest to Howards Point listed first.
- Pana
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rosamond
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Howards Point, with the one closest to Howards Point listed first.
- Iola
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Louisville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Xenia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ingraham
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Kenner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Kenner is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenner
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Howards Point, with the one closest to Howards Point listed first.
- Boulder
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Boulder is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder
- Keyesport
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cumberland County
- Neoga
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Effingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Howards Point, with the one closest to Howards Point listed first.
- Altamont
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gilmore
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Gilmore is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
- Dexter
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dexter is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dexter
- Moccasin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Moccasin is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moccasin
- Beecher City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Beecher City is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beecher City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 451 people
- Edgewood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Funkhouser
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Funkhouser is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Funkhouser
- Mason
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Watson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Shumway
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Heartville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Heartville is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heartville
- Effingham
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Jasper County
- Wheeler
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Marion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Howards Point, with the one closest to Howards Point listed first.
- Kinmundy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Vernon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Alma
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Omega
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Omega is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omega
- Patoka
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bannister
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Bannister is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bannister
- Salem
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Fairman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fairman is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairman
- Iuka
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Odin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Howards Point, with the one closest to Howards Point listed first.
- Fillmore
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Chapman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Chapman is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapman
- Nokomis
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ohlman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Coffeen
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Coalton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Coalton is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 282 people
- Wenonah
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wenonah is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wenonah
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
- Witt
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Howards Point, with the one closest to Howards Point listed first.
- Cowden
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Herrick
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fancher
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Fancher is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancher
- Mode
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Mode is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mode
- Stewardson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lakewood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Lakewood is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
- Oconee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sigel
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Tower Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Strasburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Shelbyville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Trowbridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Trowbridge is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trowbridge
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Howards Point, see our County-by-County Page for Howards Point.
Cemeteries Near Howards Point ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Howards Point.
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 Howards Point - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Howards Point covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Howards Point, with the one closest to Howards Point listed first.
- Maplewood Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Guy Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Sidener Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Stein Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Lovett Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- St. Bonaventure Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Fairview Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Padon Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Bethlehem Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Crums Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Yolton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Besing Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (459 more) ...
- Post Oak Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Rhodes Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Liberty Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
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.
While we didn't find Howards Point in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Howards Point.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Howards Point, with the one closest to Howards Point listed first.
- Saint Elmo
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Avena
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Avena is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avena
- Saint James
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Saint James is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint James
- Brownstown
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Altamont
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gilmore
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Gilmore is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
- Loogootee
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Wilberton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wilberton is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilberton
- Dexter
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dexter is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dexter
- Blue Point
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Blue Point is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Point
- Moccasin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Moccasin is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moccasin
- Saint Paul
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Paul is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- La Clede
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- La Clede is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Clede
- Edgewood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Beecher City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Beecher City is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beecher City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 451 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Howards Point. See our List of 1890's Communities around Howards Point.
Newspapers Published in Howards Point ...
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 182 newspapers that have been published in the area around Howards Point.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Howards Point, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Howards Point.
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 Howards Point:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Fayette County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bond County
- Christian County
- Clay County
- Clinton County
- Cumberland County
- Effingham County
- Jasper County
- Marion County
- Montgomery County
- Shelby County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Illinois
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Howards Point, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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- Howards Point) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |