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 Jonesboro (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 Jonesboro. 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 Jonesboro ...
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.
Another variation: Jonesborough.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Jonesboro. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Jonesboro.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.
Jonesboro is located in Union County and is the County Seat.
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 Union County: Alexander, Jackson, Johnson, Pulaski, Williamson, Cape Girardeau (MO) & Perry (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Jonesboro. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Jonesboro:
- Union County (The home county of Jonesboro)
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonesboro, with the one closest to Jonesboro listed first.
- Anna
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Dutch Mills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Dutch Mills is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Mills
- Cobden
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mill Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mill Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Alto Pass
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Water Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Water Valley is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Dongola
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Reynoldsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Reynoldsville is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
- Wolf Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Mount Pleasant
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Lick Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Alexander County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonesboro, with the one closest to Jonesboro listed first.
- Elco
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- McClure
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Diswood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Diswood is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diswood
- Tamms
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- East Cape Girardeau
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Cape Girardeau is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cape Girardeau
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Thebes
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Thebes is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thebes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Hodges Park
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Hodges Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges Park
- Olive Branch
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Unity
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Cache
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Frog City ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Frog City is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog City
- Miller City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Franklin County
- Royalton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonesboro, with the one closest to Jonesboro listed first.
- Makanda
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Pomona
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Grand Tower
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Carbondale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Murphysboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Gorham
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jacob
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- De Soto
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Oraville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Hallidayboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Hallidayboro is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallidayboro
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonesboro, with the one closest to Jonesboro listed first.
- Cypress
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Buncombe
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Goreville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Deer Ridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
- Vienna
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Eagle Point Bay
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Eagle Point Bay is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point Bay
- Belknap
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bender ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Bender is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bender
- Egyptian Hills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Egyptian Hills is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egyptian Hills
- Reynoldsburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Reynoldsburg is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsburg
- Wartrace
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Wartrace is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartrace
- Grantsburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Massac County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonesboro, with the one closest to Jonesboro listed first.
- New Columbia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- New Columbia is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Columbia
- Joppa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonesboro, with the one closest to Jonesboro listed first.
- Ullin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Perks
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pulaski
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Grand Chain
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Karnak
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- New Grand Chain
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Villa Ridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Villa Ridge is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Ridge
- Olmsted
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mounds
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Mounds is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mounds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
- Mound City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonesboro, with the one closest to Jonesboro listed first.
- Lake Crest
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Crest is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Crest
- Carterville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Crainville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Crainville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crainville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,419 people
- Cambria
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Dewmaine
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Dewmaine is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewmaine
- Energy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Blairsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Blairsville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsville
- Colp
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- 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 <1>
- Creal Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Marion
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hurst
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Herrin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ballard County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonesboro, with the one closest to Jonesboro listed first.
- Bandana
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bandana is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandana
- Barlow
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Barlow is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 628 people
- La Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- McCracken County (KY)
- Ragland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ragland is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragland
- Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonesboro, with the one closest to Jonesboro listed first.
- Leemon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Leemon is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemon
- Cape Girardeau
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Pocahontas
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Jackson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Jackson is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,699 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jackson <1>
- Shawneetown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Shawneetown is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawneetown
- Gordonville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dutchtown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Dutchtown is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchtown
- Estimated population in 2018: 94 people
- Oak Ridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Old Appleton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Old Appleton is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Appleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
- Daisy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Daisy is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
- Millersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Burfordville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Perry County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonesboro, with the one closest to Jonesboro listed first.
- Altenburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Frohna
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Frohna is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frohna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Brazeau
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Brazeau is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazeau
- Uniontown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Uniontown is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Farrar
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Farrar is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrar
- Eureka
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Eureka is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Scott County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonesboro, with the one closest to Jonesboro listed first.
- Scott City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Commerce
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kelso
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Chaffee
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- New Hamburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- New Hamburg is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hamburg
- Benton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lambert
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lambert is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert
- Population from the 2010 Census: 34 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Jonesboro, see our County-by-County Page for Jonesboro.
Cemeteries Near Jonesboro ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Jonesboro.
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 Jonesboro - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Jonesboro covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Jonesboro, with the one closest to Jonesboro listed first.
- Anna City Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Kollehner Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Grieb Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Kimmel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Kimmel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mission Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Union Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Trinity Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Karaker Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Rich Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mt. Tabor Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (438 more) ...
- Saratoga Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Williams Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kelley Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Jonesboro had a population of 1,100 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Jonesboro had a population of 1,677 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Jonesboro, with the one closest to Jonesboro listed first.
- Anna
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Balcom
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Balcom is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balcom
- Mountain Glen
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mountain Glen is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Glen
- Springville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Springville is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Cobden
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Ware
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Ware is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
- Mill Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mill Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Alto Pass
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Dongola
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Elco
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Wetaug
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Wetaug is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wetaug
- Mount Pleasant
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Egypt Mills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Egypt Mills is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt Mills
- Lick Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Makanda
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Jonesboro. See our List of 1890's Communities around Jonesboro.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Jonesboro ...
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 98 newspapers that have been published in the area around Jonesboro.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Jonesboro. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Jonesboro and those printed in the larger area surrounding Jonesboro.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 23 miles [37 km]<4> of Jonesboro.
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 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 Jonesboro:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Union County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alexander County
- Franklin County
- Jackson County
- Johnson County
- Massac County
- Pulaski County
- Williamson County
- Ballard County
- McCracken County
- Cape Girardeau County
- Perry County
- Scott 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> | 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 Jonesboro, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Jonesboro) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |