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 Mays (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 Mays. 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 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.
Mays is located in Edgar 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 Edgar County: Champaign, Clark, Coles, Douglas, Vermilion, Vermillion (IN) & Vigo (IN).
Below are the counties that are near Mays. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Mays:
- Edgar County (The home county of Mays)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Conlogue
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Conlogue is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conlogue
- Redmon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Paris
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Grandview
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Grandview is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Borton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Borton is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borton
- Bell Ridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Bell Ridge is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Ridge
- Kentucky
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Kentucky is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentucky
- Brocton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Kansas
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bloomfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bloomfield is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
- Nevins
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Nevins is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevins
- Metcalf
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Oliver
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Oliver is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliver
- Champaign County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Broadlands
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Longview
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Homer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Rutherford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rutherford is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherford
- Clark County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Clarksville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Clarksville is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
- Dennison
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dennison is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennison
- Cleone
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cleone is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleone
- Westfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Marshall
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Farrington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Farrington is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrington
- Livingston
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Livingston is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
- Weaver
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Weaver is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
- Clark Center
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Clark Center is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark Center
- Oilfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Oilfield is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oilfield
- Martinsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Snyder
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Snyder is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snyder
- Cumberland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cumberland is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Coles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Oakland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Ashmore
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Omer ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Saint Omer is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Omer
- Rardin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Rardin is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rardin
- Bushton
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Bushton is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushton
- Hutton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hutton is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton
- Charleston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Humboldt
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Dorans
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Dorans is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorans
- Lerna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Diona
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Diona is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diona
- Union Center
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Union Center is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Center
- Timothy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Timothy is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timothy
- Janesville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Douglas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Newman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hindsboro
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Murdock
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Kemp
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Kemp is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kemp
- Camargo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fairland
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Fairland is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairland
- Patterson Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Patterson Springs is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson Springs
- Filson
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Filson is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Filson
- Villa Grove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Villa Grove is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,414 people
- Arcola
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Tuscola
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hayes
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hayes is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayes
- Vermilion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Archie
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Archie is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archie
- Ridge Farm
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Sidell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Allerton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Indianola
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Vermilion Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Vermilion Grove is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermilion Grove
- Olivet
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Olivet is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Busenville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Busenville is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busenville
- Georgetown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Meeks
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Meeks is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meeks
- Fairmount
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Westville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Belgium
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Belgium is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgium
- Population from the 2020 Census: 362 people
- Parke County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Numa
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Numa is located in Parke County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Numa
- West Atherton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- West Atherton is located in Parke County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Atherton
- Armiesburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Armiesburg is located in Parke County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armiesburg
- Mecca
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Mecca is located in Parke County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mecca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 325 people
- Montezuma
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Rosedale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Rosedale is located in Parke County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 704 people
- Rosedale has also been known as:
- Roseville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rosedale <1>
- West Union
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- West Union is located in Parke County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
- Vermillion County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Blanford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Blanford is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanford
- Saint Bernice
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Saint Bernice is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Bernice
- Sandytown
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Sandytown is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandytown
- Universal
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Universal is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Universal
- Population from the 2020 Census: 339 people
- Clinton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Fairview Park
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Fairview Park is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,298 people
- Dana
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Dana is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 564 people
- Summit Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Summit Grove is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Grove
- Alta
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Alta is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta
- Hillsdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Hillsdale is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Newport
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cayuga
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cayuga is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,095 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cayuga <1>
- Eugene
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Eugene is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eugene
- Vigo County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Libertyville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Libertyville is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Pine Ridge
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Pine Ridge is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
- New Goshen
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Liggett
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Liggett is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liggett
- Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Harrison
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Harrison is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Shepardsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Shepardsville is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shepardsville
- Barnhart Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Barnhart Town is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnhart Town
- Toad Hop
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Toad Hop is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toad Hop
- West Terre Haute
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Spelterville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Spelterville is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spelterville
- Taylorville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Taylorville is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorville
- Terre Haute
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Mays, see our County-by-County Page for Mays.
Cemeteries Near Mays ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mays.
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 Mays - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Mays covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Rudy Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Augustus Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hinds Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Huffman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Redmon Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Edgar Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Paris Memorial Gardens
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Catfish Point Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Embarrass Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Scott Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Cholera Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (396 more) ...
- Grandview Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Chronic 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Mays had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Conlogue
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Conlogue is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conlogue
- Redmon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Dudley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Dudley is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
- Paris
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Grandview
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Grandview is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Garland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Garland is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
- Wetzel
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wetzel is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wetzel
- Horace
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Horace is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horace
- Borton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Borton is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borton
- Warrington
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Warrington is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrington
- Isabel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Isabel is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabel
- Kansas
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Melwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Melwood is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melwood
- Edgar
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Edgar is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgar
- Brocton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Mays. See our List of 1890's Communities around Mays.
Newspapers Published in Mays ...
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 93 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mays.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mays, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mays.
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 Mays:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Edgar County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Champaign County
- Clark County
- Coles County
- Cumberland County
- Douglas County
- Vermilion County
- Parke County
- Vermillion County
- Vigo 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 Mays, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Mays) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |