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 Janesville (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 Janesville. 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 southeast 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 south.
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 south 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.
Janesville is primarily located in Cumberland County. A portion of Janesville extends into Coles 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 Cumberland County: Clark, Coles, Crawford, Effingham, Jasper & Shelby.
Below are the counties that are near Janesville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Janesville:
- Cumberland County (The home county of Janesville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Janesville, with the one closest to Janesville listed first.
- Johnstown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Johnstown is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Bradbury
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bradbury is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradbury
- Diona
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Diona is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diona
- Toledo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Timothy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Timothy is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timothy
- Union Center
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Union Center is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Center
- Greenup
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jewett
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Neoga
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Walla Walla
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Walla Walla is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walla Walla
- Hazel Dell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hazel Dell is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Dell
- Clark County
- The following are listed by their distance from Janesville, with the one closest to Janesville listed first.
- Oilfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Oilfield is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oilfield
- Casey
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Westfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cumberland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Cumberland is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Cleone
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Cleone is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleone
- Oak Point
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Point is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Point
- Martinsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Hogue Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hogue Town is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hogue Town
- Clark Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Clark Center is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark Center
- Clarksville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Clarksville is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
- Melrose
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Melrose is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Marshall
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Coles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Janesville, with the one closest to Janesville listed first.
- Lerna
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Trilla
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hutton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Hutton is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton
- Charleston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Magnet
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Magnet is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnet
- Mattoon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dorans
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Dorans is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorans
- Bushton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Bushton is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushton
- Humboldt
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Ashmore
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cooks Mills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cooks Mills is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
- Rardin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rardin is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rardin
- Saint Omer ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Omer is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Omer
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Janesville, with the one closest to Janesville listed first.
- Bellair
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bellair is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellair
- Annapolis
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Kibbie ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Kibbie is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibbie
- Dogwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dogwood is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood
- Douglas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Janesville, with the one closest to Janesville listed first.
- Arcola
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Filson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Filson is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Filson
- Hindsboro
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Kemp
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Kemp is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kemp
- Chesterville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Chesterville is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterville
- Arthur
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Patterson Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Patterson Springs is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson Springs
- Camargo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Ficklin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Ficklin is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ficklin
- Tuscola
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Garrett
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Garrett is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
- Murdock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Edgar County
- The following are listed by their distance from Janesville, with the one closest to Janesville listed first.
- Kansas
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Grandview
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Grandview is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Borton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Borton is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borton
- Bell Ridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Bell Ridge is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Ridge
- Redmon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Brocton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Conlogue
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Conlogue is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conlogue
- Oliver
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Oliver is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliver
- Effingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Janesville, with the one closest to Janesville listed first.
- Montrose
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Montrose is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
- Green Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Green Creek is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Creek
- Teutopolis
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Dieterich
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Effingham
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Shumway
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Funkhouser
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Funkhouser is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Funkhouser
- Heartville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Heartville is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heartville
- Watson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Janesville, with the one closest to Janesville listed first.
- Hidalgo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Rose Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Rose Hill is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
- Yale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Falmouth
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Falmouth is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth
- Wheeler
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Lis
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Lis is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lis
- Hunt City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hunt City is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt City
- Newton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Willow Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Moultrie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Janesville, with the one closest to Janesville listed first.
- Gays
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Coles
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Coles is located in Moultrie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coles
- Allenville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Allenville is located in Moultrie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
- Sullivan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cadwell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cadwell is located in Moultrie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cadwell
- Cushman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cushman is located in Moultrie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cushman
- Dunn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dunn is located in Moultrie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Janesville, with the one closest to Janesville listed first.
- Sexson Corner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Sexson Corner is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexson Corner
- Trowbridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Trowbridge is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trowbridge
- Sigel
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Windsor
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Strasburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Stewardson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Middlesworth
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Middlesworth is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesworth
- Mode
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Mode is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mode
- Fancher
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Fancher is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancher
- Findlay
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Shelbyville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Janesville, see our County-by-County Page for Janesville.
Cemeteries Near Janesville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Janesville.
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 Janesville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Janesville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Janesville, with the one closest to Janesville listed first.
- Janesville Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- New Indian Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Old Indian Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Haggins Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Leitch Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Tabor Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Doty Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Wright Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Tippett Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Armstrong Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (428 more) ...
- Upper Muddy Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lower Muddy Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Beals Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Janesville had a population of 217 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Janesville, with the one closest to Janesville listed first.
- Johnstown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Johnstown is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Campbell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Campbell is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
- Bradbury
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bradbury is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradbury
- Lerna
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Diona
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Diona is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diona
- Trilla
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Toledo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Timothy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Timothy is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timothy
- Hutton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Hutton is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton
- Charleston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Loxa
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Loxa is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loxa
- Greenup
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Union Center
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Union Center is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Center
- Etna
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Etna is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Mattoon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Janesville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Janesville.
Newspapers Published in Janesville ...
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 188 newspapers that have been published in the area around Janesville.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Janesville, 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 Janesville.
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 Janesville:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Cumberland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clark County
- Coles County
- Crawford County
- Douglas County
- Edgar County
- Effingham County
- Jasper County
- Moultrie County
- Shelby 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> | 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 Janesville, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Janesville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |