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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 Illiopolis (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 Illiopolis. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.

Illiopolis is located in Sangamon County.

To see how the shape of Illinois' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Sangamon County: Christian, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Menard, Montgomery & Morgan.

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

  • Sangamon County     (The home county of Illiopolis)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Illiopolis, with the one closest to Illiopolis listed first.
    • Buffalo
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Mechanicsburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Buffalo Hart
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Dawson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dawson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
      • Dawson is located in Sangamon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dawson <1>
    • Riverton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton
      • Riverton is located in Sangamon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,430 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riverton <1>
    • Rochester
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rochester have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
      • Rochester is located in Sangamon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,715 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rochester <1>
    • Spaulding
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spaulding have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spaulding
      • Spaulding is located in Sangamon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 836 people
    • Clear Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clear Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
      • Clear Lake is located in Sangamon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
    • Williamsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsville
      • Williamsville is located in Sangamon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,490 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Williamsville <1>
    • Sherman
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • New City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New City
      • New City is located in Sangamon County
    • Grandview
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grandview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
      • Grandview is located in Sangamon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,369 people
    • Ridgely
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ridgely. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgely
      • Ridgely is located in Sangamon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ridgely
      • From Illiopolis to Ridgely
  • Christian County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Illiopolis, with the one closest to Illiopolis listed first.
    • Mount Auburn
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Bolivia
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Grove City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove City
      • Grove City is located in Christian County
    • Stonington
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stonington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonington
      • Stonington is located in Christian County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 835 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stonington <1>
    • Edinburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Sandersville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Sharpsburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sharpsburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpsburg
      • Sharpsburg is located in Christian County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sharpsburg
      • From Illiopolis to Sharpsburg
    • Taylorville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Bulpitt
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bulpitt have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bulpitt
      • Bulpitt is located in Christian County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bulpitt <1>
    • Jeisyville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jeisyville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeisyville
      • Jeisyville is located in Christian County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
    • Kincaid
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kincaid have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kincaid
      • Kincaid is located in Christian County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,362 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kincaid <1>
    • Tovey
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tovey have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tovey
      • Tovey is located in Christian County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 467 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tovey <1>
    • Velma
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Velma. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Velma
      • Velma is located in Christian County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Velma
      • From Illiopolis to Velma
  • De Witt County
  • Logan County
  • Macon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Illiopolis, with the one closest to Illiopolis listed first.
    • Niantic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Harristown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harristown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harristown
      • Harristown is located in Macon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,278 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harristown <1>
    • Warrensburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warrensburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrensburg
      • Warrensburg is located in Macon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,112 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warrensburg <1>
    • Boody
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bearsdale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bearsdale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearsdale
      • Bearsdale is located in Macon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bearsdale
      • From Illiopolis to Bearsdale
    • Blue Mound
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Mound have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mound
      • Blue Mound is located in Macon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,065 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Mound <1>
    • Elwin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elwin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elwin
      • Elwin is located in Macon County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elwin <1>
    • Decatur
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Forsyth
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forsyth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forsyth
      • Forsyth is located in Macon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,465 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Forsyth <1>
    • Macon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Turpin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Turpin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turpin
      • Turpin is located in Macon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Turpin
      • From Illiopolis to Turpin
    • Mount Zion
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Zion have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
      • Mount Zion is located in Macon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,762 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Zion <1>
    • Maroa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Menard County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Illiopolis, with the one closest to Illiopolis listed first.
    • Croft
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Athens
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Greenview
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenview
      • Greenview is located in Menard County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 715 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenview <1>
  • Montgomery County
    • White Oak
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for White Oak. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
      • White Oak is located in Montgomery County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to White Oak
      • From Illiopolis to White Oak
  • Moultrie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Illiopolis, with the one closest to Illiopolis listed first.
    • Dalton City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Lake City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Bethany
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bethany have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
      • Bethany is located in Moultrie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,210 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bethany <1>
  • Piatt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Illiopolis, with the one closest to Illiopolis listed first.
    • Cerro Gordo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cerro Gordo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerro Gordo
      • Cerro Gordo is located in Piatt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,337 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cerro Gordo <1>
    • La Place
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Place have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Place
      • La Place is located in Piatt County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for La Place <1>
    • Cisco
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cisco have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisco
      • Cisco is located in Piatt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 242 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cisco <1>
    • Lintner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lintner. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lintner
      • Lintner is located in Piatt County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lintner
      • From Illiopolis to Lintner
  • Shelby County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Illiopolis, with the one closest to Illiopolis listed first.
    • Moweaqua
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moweaqua have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moweaqua
      • Moweaqua is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,684 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moweaqua <1>
    • Yantisville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Illiopolis ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Illiopolis.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Wilcox Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilcox Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilcox Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mostetter Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mostetter Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mostetter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hunter Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hunter Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hunter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Long Point Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Long Point Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Long Point Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Auburn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Auburn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Auburn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Stafford Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stafford Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stafford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Berea Christian Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Berea Christian Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Berea Christian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Darmer Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Darmer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Darmer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Two Mile Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Two Mile Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Two Mile Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (258 more) ...
    • Lake Bank Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Sangamon County Home Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sangamon County Home Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sangamon County Home Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Milligan Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Milligan Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Milligan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Illiopolis had a population of 689 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Illiopolis had a population of 835 people.

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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Illiopolis ...

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 174 newspapers that have been published in the area around Illiopolis.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Illiopolis. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Illiopolis and those printed in the larger area surrounding Illiopolis.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4> of Illiopolis.

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 Illiopolis:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Illiopolis. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Sangamon County: www.co.sangamon.il.us/

The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov

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 location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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- Illiopolis) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Illiopolis. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.8530, Longitude: -89.2421    
<5>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.
<6>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 Illiopolis, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025