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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 Ina (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 Ina. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Ina is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Franklin, Hamilton, Marion, Perry, Washington & Wayne.

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

  • Jefferson County     (The home county of Ina)
  • Clinton County
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ina, with the one closest to Ina listed first.
    • Whittington
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Ewing
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Taylor Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Frisco
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Benton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Rend City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Rend City is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rend City
    • Sesser
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Steel City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • West City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • West City is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 626 people
    • Valier
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hanaford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Hanaford is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanaford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
    • Buckner
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ina, with the one closest to Ina listed first.
    • Dahlgren
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Lovilla
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Macedonia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Flint
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Piopolis
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Belle Prairie City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Belle Prairie City is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Prairie City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
    • Diamond City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Diamond City is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond City
    • McLeansboro
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Jefferson City ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Jefferson City is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson City
    • Dale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Walpole
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Bungay
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Jackson County
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ina, with the one closest to Ina listed first.
    • Kell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Walnut Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Hickory Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Hickory Hill is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hill
    • Cartter
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Union Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Union Town is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Town
    • Central City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Perry County
  • Saline County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ina, with the one closest to Ina listed first.
    • Cornerville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Long Branch
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Galatia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Raleigh
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ina, with the one closest to Ina listed first.
    • Radom
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Radom is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radom
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Radom <1>
    • Du Bois
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Du Bois is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Bois
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
    • Ashley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Richview
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Baldwin Heights
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Baldwin Heights is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin Heights
    • Irvington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Posen
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Posen is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Posen
    • Wamac
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Hoyleton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Nashville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ina, with the one closest to Ina listed first.
    • Keenes
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Wayne City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Sims
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Boyleston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Barnhill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • White County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ina, with the one closest to Ina listed first.
    • Springerton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Enfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Williamson County

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

Cemeteries Near Ina ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ina.

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

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

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

  • Fitzgerrell Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Kirk Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Carroll Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Knowles Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Hope Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • McKinney Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Cypher Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Winemiller Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Mason Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Round Knob Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Abner Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Franklin Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (468 more) ...
    • Shiloh Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • King Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Thurmond Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)

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

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

  • Spring Garden
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Spring Garden is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
  • Ewing
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Taylor Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Fitzgerrell ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Fitzgerrell is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzgerrell
  • Benton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Opdyke
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Belle Rive
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Mount Vernon
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Macedonia
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Dahlgren
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Buckner
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Drivers
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Drivers is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drivers
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Marlow
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Christopher
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Smothersville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Smothersville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ina ...

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 96 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ina.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ina. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ina and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ina.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4> of Ina.

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 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 Ina:

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 Ina, 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 from Point A (ie- Ina) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.