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 Jenkins (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 Jenkins. 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 Jenkins ...
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.
While the name of this community is Jenkins, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Jenkins may originally have been Jenkin's.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Jenkins. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Jenkins.
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 southwest 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 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 west 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.
Jenkins is located in Williamson 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 Williamson County: Franklin, Jackson, Johnson, Pope, Saline & Union.
Below are the counties that are near Jenkins. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Jenkins:
- Williamson County (The home county of Jenkins)
- The following are listed by their distance from Jenkins, with the one closest to Jenkins listed first.
- Stiritz
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Stiritz is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiritz
- Johnston City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Freeman Spur
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Freeman Spur is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman Spur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
- Freeman Spur has also been known as:
- Freeman Spur village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeman Spur <2>
- Whiteash
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Whiteash is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteash
- Estimated population in 2014: 240 people
- Herrin Junction ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Herrin Junction is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrin Junction
- Spillertown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Spillertown is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spillertown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Pittsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Herrin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Energy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Corinth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Corinth is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Marion
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Colp
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Colp is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colp
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Former name for Colp:
- Colpville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colp <2>
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jenkins, with the one closest to Jenkins listed first.
- West Frankfort
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- West Frankfort is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Frankfort
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,733 people
- Deering City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Deering City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deering City
- Cambon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cambon is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambon
- Orient
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Plumfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Plumfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
- Fitt's Hill ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Fitt's Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitt's Hill
- Zeigler
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hanaford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hanaford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanaford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
- Parrish
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Parrish is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Smothersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Smothersville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
- West City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- West City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 626 people
- Buckner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jenkins, with the one closest to Jenkins listed first.
- Macedonia
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Walpole
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Walpole is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walpole
- Flint
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Flint is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
- Broughton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Dale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lovilla
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lovilla is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovilla
- Diamond City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Diamond City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond City
- McLeansboro
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Dahlgren
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Piopolis
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Piopolis is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piopolis
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jenkins, with the one closest to Jenkins listed first.
- De Soto
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Dowell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Elkville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Hallidayboro
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Hallidayboro is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallidayboro
- Carbondale
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Makanda
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Vergennes
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Murphysboro
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Oraville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Pomona
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jenkins, with the one closest to Jenkins listed first.
- Emerson City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Emerson City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson City
- Fitzgerrell ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Fitzgerrell is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzgerrell
- Ina
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Ina is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,279 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ina <2>
- Nason
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Dareville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Dareville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dareville
- Bonnie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Scheller
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Waltonville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Belle Rive
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Marcoe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Marcoe is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcoe
- Opdyke
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jenkins, with the one closest to Jenkins listed first.
- Eagle Point Bay
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Eagle Point Bay is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point Bay
- Egyptian Hills
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Egyptian Hills is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egyptian Hills
- Deer Ridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
- Goreville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- New Burnside
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ozark
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Reynoldsburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Reynoldsburg is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsburg
- Buncombe
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Simpson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Vienna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jenkins, with the one closest to Jenkins listed first.
- Du Quoin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Du Quoin is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Quoin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,591 people
- Saint Johns
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Johns is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Sunfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sunfield is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunfield
- Tamaroa
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Pyatts
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pyatts is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pyatts
- Pinckneyville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pope County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jenkins, with the one closest to Jenkins listed first.
- McCormick
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- McCormick is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCormick
- Oak
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Oak is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak
- Eddyville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Saline County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jenkins, with the one closest to Jenkins listed first.
- Cornerville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Cornerville is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornerville
- Galatia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Long Branch
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Long Branch is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Carrier Mills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Carrier Mills is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrier Mills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,527 people
- Former names for Carrier Mills:
- Carriers Mills
- Morrilsville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carrier Mills <2>
- Buena Vista
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Buena Vista is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Stonefort
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Raleigh
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Ledford
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ledford is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledford
- Liberty
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Harrisburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Gaskins City
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Gaskins City is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaskins City
- Muddy
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jenkins, with the one closest to Jenkins listed first.
- Lick Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Water Valley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Water Valley is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Mount Pleasant
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Alto Pass
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cobden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Washington County
- Du Bois
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Du Bois is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Bois
- Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Jenkins, see our County-by-County Page for Jenkins.
Cemeteries Near Jenkins ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Jenkins.
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 Jenkins - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Jenkins covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Jenkins, with the one closest to Jenkins listed first.
- Hart Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Duncan Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- County Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Clayton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Lithuanian Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Boner Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boner Cemetery
- The Boner Cemetery has also been known as:
- Boner Chapel Cemetery
- Bonner Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Follis Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Huck Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lakeview Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Blair Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (495 more) ...
- Becker Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Becker Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Murphey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 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.<4>
While we didn't find Jenkins in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Jenkins.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Jenkins, with the one closest to Jenkins listed first.
- Frankfort
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Frankfort is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankfort
- Plumfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Plumfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
- Fitt's Hill ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Fitt's Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitt's Hill
- Marion
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Corinth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Corinth is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Parrish
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Parrish is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Smothersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Smothersville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
- Bainbridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bainbridge is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainbridge
- Buckner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Carterville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Crainville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Crainville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crainville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,419 people
- Crab Orchard
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Crab Orchard is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab Orchard
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Attila
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Attila is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attila
- Locust Grove ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Locust Grove is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
- Thompsonville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Jenkins. See our List of 1890's Communities around Jenkins.
Newspapers Published in Jenkins ...
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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Jenkins.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Jenkins, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Jenkins.
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 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 Jenkins:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Williamson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Hamilton County
- Jackson County
- Jefferson County
- Johnson County
- Perry County
- Pope County
- Saline County
- Union County
- Washington County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Illinois
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Jenkins, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Jenkins) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |