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 Jones (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 Jones. 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 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.
Jones is located in 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 Coles County: Clark, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Moultrie & Shelby.
Below are the counties that are near Jones. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Jones:
- Coles County (The home county of Jones)
- The following are listed by their distance from Jones, with the one closest to Jones listed first.
- Mattoon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lerna
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Magnet
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Magnet is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnet
- Trilla
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Dorans
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Dorans is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorans
- Charleston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Cooks Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cooks Mills is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
- Humboldt
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Hutton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Hutton is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton
- Bushton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bushton is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushton
- Rardin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rardin is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rardin
- Ashmore
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Clark County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jones, with the one closest to Jones listed first.
- Westfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Oilfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Oilfield is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oilfield
- Casey
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cumberland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cumberland is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Cleone
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Cleone is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleone
- Martinsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Oak Point
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Point is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Point
- Clarksville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Clarksville is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
- Hogue Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hogue Town is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hogue Town
- Clark Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Clark Center is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark Center
- Crawford County
- Bellair
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bellair is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellair
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jones, with the one closest to Jones listed first.
- Johnstown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Johnstown is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Janesville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bradbury
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bradbury is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradbury
- Diona
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Diona is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diona
- Neoga
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Toledo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Timothy
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Timothy is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timothy
- Union Center
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Union Center is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Center
- Greenup
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jewett
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Walla Walla
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Walla Walla is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walla Walla
- Hazel Dell
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Hazel Dell is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Dell
- Douglas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jones, with the one closest to Jones listed first.
- Arcola
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Chesterville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Chesterville is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterville
- Filson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Filson is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Filson
- Kemp
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Kemp is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kemp
- Arthur
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Hindsboro
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Ficklin
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Ficklin is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ficklin
- Garrett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Garrett is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
- Patterson Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Patterson Springs is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson Springs
- Tuscola
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Camargo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Chicken Bristle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Chicken Bristle is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicken Bristle
- Edgar County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jones, with the one closest to Jones listed first.
- Kansas
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Borton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Borton is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borton
- Grandview
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Grandview is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Brocton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Redmon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bell Ridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Bell Ridge is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Ridge
- Conlogue
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Conlogue is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conlogue
- Effingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jones, with the one closest to Jones listed first.
- Montrose
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Montrose is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
- Green Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Green Creek is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Creek
- Teutopolis
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Effingham
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Shumway
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Dieterich
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Heartville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Heartville is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heartville
- Funkhouser
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Funkhouser is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Funkhouser
- Beecher City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Beecher City is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beecher City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 451 people
- Moccasin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Moccasin is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moccasin
- Fayette County
- Holliday
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Holliday is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holliday
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jones, with the one closest to Jones listed first.
- Hidalgo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rose Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rose Hill is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
- Wheeler
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Yale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Falmouth
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Falmouth is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth
- Lis
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lis is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lis
- Moultrie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jones, with the one closest to Jones listed first.
- Coles
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Coles is located in Moultrie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coles
- Gays
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Allenville
(13 miles [20.9 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
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cadwell
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Cadwell is located in Moultrie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cadwell
- Cushman
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cushman is located in Moultrie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cushman
- Dunn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dunn is located in Moultrie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn
- Lovington
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Bethany
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lake City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lake City is located in Moultrie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
- Dalton City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Piatt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jones, with the one closest to Jones listed first.
- Atwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Hammond
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Burrowsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Burrowsville is located in Piatt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrowsville
- Lintner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lintner is located in Piatt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lintner
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jones, with the one closest to Jones listed first.
- Sexson Corner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sexson Corner is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexson Corner
- Trowbridge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Trowbridge is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trowbridge
- Windsor
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Strasburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sigel
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Stewardson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Middlesworth
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Middlesworth is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesworth
- Findlay
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Mode
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mode is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mode
- Shelbyville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Fancher
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fancher is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancher
- Yantisville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Yantisville is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yantisville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Jones, see our County-by-County Page for Jones.
Cemeteries Near Jones ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Jones.
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 Jones - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Jones covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Jones, with the one closest to Jones listed first.
- Montgomery Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Rest Haven Memorial Gardens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Dry Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Armstrong Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Upper Muddy Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bethel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Calvary Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dodge Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Campground Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campground Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Campground Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<2> to the southwest of Mattoon.
- The Campground Cemetery has also been known as:
- Old Sawyer Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1140184 <3>
- Lower Muddy Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- New Indian Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Old Indian Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (410 more) ...
- Doty Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Beals Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Bales Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
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 Jones in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Jones.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Jones, with the one closest to Jones listed first.
- Lerna
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mattoon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Loxa
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Loxa is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loxa
- Trilla
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Paradise
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Paradise is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
- Etna
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Etna is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Johnstown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Johnstown is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Janesville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Campbell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Campbell is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
- Charleston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Coles
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Coles is located in Moultrie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coles
- Gays
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Cooks Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cooks Mills is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
- Sexson Corner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sexson Corner is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexson Corner
- Bradbury
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bradbury is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradbury
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Jones. See our List of 1890's Communities around Jones.
Newspapers Published in Jones ...
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 200 newspapers that have been published in the area around Jones.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Jones, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Jones.
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 Jones:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Coles County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clark County
- Crawford County
- Cumberland County
- Douglas County
- Edgar County
- Effingham County
- Fayette County
- Jasper County
- Moultrie County
- Piatt 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> | 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- Jones) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Jones, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |