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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 Karnak (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 Karnak. 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 doctors and 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.

Karnak is located in Pulaski 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 Pulaski County: Alexander, Johnson, Massac, Union & Ballard (KY).

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

  • Pulaski County     (The home county of Karnak)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Karnak, with the one closest to Karnak listed first.
    • Grand Chain
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • New Grand Chain
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
    • Perks
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Olmsted
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Ullin
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Pulaski
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Villa Ridge
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Villa Ridge is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Ridge
    • Mound City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Mounds
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Mounds is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mounds
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
  • Alexander County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Karnak, with the one closest to Karnak listed first.
    • Elco
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Tamms
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Tamms is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamms
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 449 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tamms <1>
    • Hodges Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Hodges Park is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges Park
    • Unity
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Diswood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Diswood is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diswood
    • Cache
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Frog City ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Frog City is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog City
    • Cairo Junction
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Cairo Junction is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo Junction
    • Future City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Future City is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Future City
    • Cairo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Cairo is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,989 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cairo <1>
    • Olive Branch
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Miller City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • McClure
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Karnak, with the one closest to Karnak listed first.
    • Makanda
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Pomona
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Karnak, with the one closest to Karnak listed first.
    • Belknap
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Cypress
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bender ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Bender is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bender
    • Vienna
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Buncombe
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Wartrace
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Wartrace is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartrace
    • Reevesville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Reevesville is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reevesville
    • Grantsburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Simpson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Goreville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Reynoldsburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Reynoldsburg is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsburg
    • Deer Ridge
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
    • Eagle Point Bay
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Eagle Point Bay is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point Bay
  • Massac County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Karnak, with the one closest to Karnak listed first.
    • Joppa
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • New Columbia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • New Columbia is located in Massac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Columbia
    • Big Bay
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Big Bay is located in Massac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bay
    • Metropolis
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Massac City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Massac City is located in Massac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massac City
    • Brookport
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Shady Grove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Shady Grove is located in Massac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
    • Unionville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Unionville is located in Massac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
  • Pope County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Karnak, with the one closest to Karnak listed first.
    • Dixon Springs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Dixon Springs is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon Springs
    • Glendale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Glendale is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
    • Rock
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Rock is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
    • McCormick
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • McCormick is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCormick
    • Eddyville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Bay City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Bay City is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay City
    • Golconda
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Lusk
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Lusk is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lusk
  • Saline County
    • Stonefort
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Karnak, with the one closest to Karnak listed first.
    • Dongola
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Pleasant
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
    • Mill Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Mill Creek is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
    • Lick Creek
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Lick Creek is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
    • Anna
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Anna is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anna
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,059 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Anna <1>
    • Dutch Mills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Dutch Mills is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Mills
    • Jonesboro
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Water Valley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Water Valley is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
    • Cobden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Reynoldsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Reynoldsville is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
    • Alto Pass
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Wolf Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Williamson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Karnak, with the one closest to Karnak listed first.
    • Lake Crest
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Lake Crest is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Crest
    • Creal Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Marion
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Marion is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,417 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marion <1>
  • Ballard County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Karnak, with the one closest to Karnak listed first.
    • Bandana
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Bandana is located in Ballard County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandana
    • Kevil
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Kevil is located in Ballard County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kevil
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kevil <1>
    • La Center
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Barlow
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Barlow is located in Ballard County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 628 people
    • Ceredo
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Ceredo is located in Ballard County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceredo
    • Gage
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Gage is located in Ballard County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gage
    • Lovelaceville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Lovelaceville is located in Ballard County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovelaceville
    • Wickliffe
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Blandville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Blandville is located in Ballard County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blandville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
  • Carlisle County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Karnak, with the one closest to Karnak listed first.
    • Cunningham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Bardwell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Graves County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Karnak, with the one closest to Karnak listed first.
    • Melber
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Melber is located in Graves County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melber
    • Lowes
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Lowes is located in Graves County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowes
  • McCracken County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Karnak, with the one closest to Karnak listed first.
    • Ragland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Ragland is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragland
    • Woodville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Woodville is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
    • Cimota City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Cimota City is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cimota City
    • Grahamville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Grahamville is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahamville
    • Future City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Future City
    • West Future City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • West Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Future City
    • West Paducah
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Camelia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Camelia is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelia
    • Massac
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Massac is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massac
    • Lone Oak
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Lone Oak is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Oak
    • Paducah
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Paducah is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paducah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 24,883 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Paducah <1>
    • Hendron
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Hendron is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendron
    • Oakdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Oakdale is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
  • Mississippi County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Karnak, with the one closest to Karnak listed first.
    • Greenfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Greenfield is located in Mississippi County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
    • Wyatt
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Wyatt is located in Mississippi County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
    • Wilson City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Wilson City is located in Mississippi County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
  • Scott County (MO)
    • Commerce
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Karnak ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Karnak.

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

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

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

  • Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • West Eden Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Masonic Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Miller Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Forestview Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Grand Chain Masonic Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Ohio Chapel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Anderson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson Cemetery
    • The Anderson Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Anderson Congregational Church Cemetery
    • Boaz Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #442246 <2>
  • Copland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Masonic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Waters Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hitchcock Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (481 more) ...
    • Mosley Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Weese Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Holman Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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.<3>

While we didn't find Karnak in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Karnak.

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

  • Belknap
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Grand Chain
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • New Grand Chain
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
  • Boaz
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Boaz is located in Massac County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boaz
  • Grinnell
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Grinnell is located in Massac County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grinnell
  • Hillerman
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hillerman is located in Massac County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillerman
  • Joppa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Moscow
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Moscow is located in Union County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
  • Vienna
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Olmsted
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Bandana
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Bandana is located in Ballard County (KY)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandana
  • Ragland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Ragland is located in McCracken County (KY)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragland
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Samoth
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Samoth is located in Massac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samoth
    • Wetaug
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Wetaug is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wetaug
    • Oscar
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Oscar is located in Ballard County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oscar

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

Newspapers Published in Karnak ...

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 65 newspapers that have been published in the area around Karnak.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Karnak, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Karnak.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Karnak:

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