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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 Long Branch (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 Long Branch. 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 Long Branch ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Long Branch: Long Br. (or less commonly used: Long Brnch.)

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 northwest 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 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.

Long Branch is located in Mason County.

To see how the shape of Illinois' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Mason County: Cass, Fulton, Logan, Menard, Schuyler & Tazewell.

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

  • Mason County     (The home county of Long Branch)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Long Branch, with the one closest to Long Branch listed first.
    • Kilbourne
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Havana
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Poplar City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bath
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bath have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
      • Bath is located in Mason County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bath <1>
    • White City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
      • White City is located in Mason County
    • Topeka
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Topeka have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topeka
      • Topeka is located in Mason County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Topeka <1>
    • Easton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Buzzville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Teheran
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Snicarte
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Snicarte. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snicarte
      • Snicarte is located in Mason County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Snicarte
      • From Long Branch to Snicarte
    • Goofy Ridge
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Forest City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
      • Forest City is located in Mason County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
  • Cass County
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Long Branch, with the one closest to Long Branch listed first.
    • Marbletown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Sepo
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sepo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sepo
      • Sepo is located in Fulton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sepo
      • From Long Branch to Sepo
    • Liverpool
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liverpool have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liverpool
      • Liverpool is located in Fulton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Liverpool <1>
    • Lewistown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lewistown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewistown
      • Lewistown is located in Fulton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,096 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lewistown <1>
    • Summum
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Astoria
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Astoria have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astoria
      • Astoria is located in Fulton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,015 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Astoria <1>
    • Bryant
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bryant have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
      • Bryant is located in Fulton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bryant <1>
    • Ipava
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ipava have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ipava
      • Ipava is located in Fulton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 412 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ipava <1>
    • Dunfermline
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunfermline have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunfermline
      • Dunfermline is located in Fulton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dunfermline <1>
    • Saint David
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Cuba
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Banner
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Banner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
      • Banner is located in Fulton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Banner <1>
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Long Branch, with the one closest to Long Branch listed first.
    • Middletown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middletown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
      • Middletown is located in Logan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 301 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Middletown <1>
    • New Holland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Holland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Holland
      • New Holland is located in Logan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Holland <1>
    • Emden
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emden have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emden
      • Emden is located in Logan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 456 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emden <1>
  • McDonough County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Long Branch, with the one closest to Long Branch listed first.
    • Adair
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • New Philadelphia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Philadelphia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Philadelphia
      • New Philadelphia is located in McDonough County
    • Industry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Menard County
  • Morgan County
  • Peoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Long Branch, with the one closest to Long Branch listed first.
    • Glasford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Kingston Mines
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kingston Mines have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston Mines
      • Kingston Mines is located in Peoria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 279 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kingston Mines <1>
    • Mapleton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mapleton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapleton
      • Mapleton is located in Peoria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mapleton <1>
  • Sangamon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Long Branch, with the one closest to Long Branch listed first.
    • Pleasant Plains
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Plains have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plains
      • Pleasant Plains is located in Sangamon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 792 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Plains <1>
    • Salisbury
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Cantrall
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cantrall have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cantrall
      • Cantrall is located in Sangamon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cantrall <1>
  • Schuyler County
  • Tazewell County

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

Cemeteries Near Long Branch ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Long Branch.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Jones Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jones Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jones Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Neteler Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Neteler Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Neteler Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Baker Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Baker Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Baker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hancock - Pioneer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Chaney Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chaney Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chaney Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Steging Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Steging Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Steging Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Speckman Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Speckman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Speckman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Zion Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Zion Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Kilbourne Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kilbourne Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kilbourne Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (371 more) ...
    • Kilbourne Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kilbourne Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kilbourne Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Morgan Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Morgan Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Morgan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • New Lebanon Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Lebanon Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Lebanon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Long Branch in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Long Branch.

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

  • Kelsey
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kelsey have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsey
    • Kelsey is located in Mason County
  • Conover
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conover have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conover
    • Conover is located in Mason County
  • Matanzas
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Matanzas have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matanzas
    • Matanzas is located in Mason County
  • Kilbourne
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Bath
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bath have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
    • Bath is located in Mason County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bath <1>
  • Havana
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Poplar City
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Oakford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Marbletown
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Saidora
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saidora have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saidora
    • Saidora is located in Mason County
  • Sepo
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sepo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sepo
    • Sepo is located in Fulton County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Sepo
    • From Long Branch to Sepo
  • Topeka
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Topeka have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topeka
    • Topeka is located in Mason County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Topeka <1>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Long Branch ...

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 39 newspapers that have been published in the area around Long Branch.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Long Branch, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Long Branch.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Long Branch:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Long Branch. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Mason County: www.masoncountyil.org/

The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov

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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<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 Long Branch, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Long Branch) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Long Branch. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.2169, Longitude: -90.0374       In this case, the coordinates for Long Branch have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025