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 Melwood (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 Melwood. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.
Melwood 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 Melwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Melwood:
- Edgar County (The home county of Melwood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Melwood, with the one closest to Melwood listed first.
- Hume
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Metcalf
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Brocton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Palermo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Palermo is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palermo
- Redmon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Borton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Borton is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borton
- Bloomfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Bloomfield is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
- Chrisman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Conlogue
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Conlogue is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conlogue
- Logan
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Paris
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Scottland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Scottland is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottland
- Kansas
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Champaign County
- The following are listed by their distance from Melwood, with the one closest to Melwood listed first.
- Broadlands
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Longview
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Homer
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Rutherford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rutherford is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherford
- Sidney
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Philo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ogden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Pesotum
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Joseph
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Tolono
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mayview
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mayview is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayview
- Mira
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mira is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mira
- Sadorus
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clark County
- The following are listed by their distance from Melwood, with the one closest to Melwood listed first.
- Clarksville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Clarksville is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
- Westfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Cleone
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Cleone is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleone
- Dennison
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dennison is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennison
- Oilfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Oilfield is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oilfield
- Farrington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Farrington is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrington
- Clark Center
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Clark Center is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark Center
- Marshall
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Livingston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Livingston is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
- Weaver
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Weaver is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
- Martinsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Coles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Melwood, with the one closest to Melwood listed first.
- Oakland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rardin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rardin is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rardin
- Saint Omer ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Omer is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Omer
- Ashmore
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Bushton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Bushton is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushton
- Charleston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Humboldt
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hutton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hutton is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton
- Dorans
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dorans is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorans
- Cumberland County
- Diona
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Diona is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diona
- Douglas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Melwood, with the one closest to Melwood listed first.
- Newman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Murdock
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Fairland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fairland is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairland
- Hindsboro
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Camargo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Villa Grove
(17 miles [27.4 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
- Kemp
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Kemp is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kemp
- Patterson Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Patterson Springs is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson Springs
- Filson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Filson is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Filson
- Tuscola
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Hayes
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hayes is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayes
- Arcola
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Ficklin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Ficklin is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ficklin
- Vermilion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Melwood, with the one closest to Melwood listed first.
- Archie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Archie is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archie
- Sidell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Allerton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Indianola
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ridge Farm
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Vermilion Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Vermilion Grove is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermilion Grove
- Olivet
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Olivet is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Busenville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Busenville is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busenville
- Fairmount
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Georgetown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Catlin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Meeks
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Meeks is located in Vermilion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meeks
- Westville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Parke County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Melwood, with the one closest to Melwood listed first.
- Montezuma
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Armiesburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Armiesburg is located in Parke County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armiesburg
- Numa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Numa is located in Parke County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Numa
- Mecca
(28 miles [45.1 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
- West Atherton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- West Atherton is located in Parke County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Atherton
- West Union
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- 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 Melwood, with the one closest to Melwood listed first.
- Saint Bernice
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Saint Bernice is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Bernice
- Blanford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Blanford is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanford
- Dana
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Dana is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 564 people
- Sandytown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Sandytown is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandytown
- Universal
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Universal is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Universal
- Population from the 2020 Census: 339 people
- Fairview Park
(24 miles [38.6 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
- Cayuga
(24 miles [38.6 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>
- Alta
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Alta is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta
- Clinton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Hillsdale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Hillsdale is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Newport
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Summit Grove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Summit Grove is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Grove
- Eugene
(25 miles [40.2 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 Melwood, with the one closest to Melwood listed first.
- Libertyville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Libertyville is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Pine Ridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Pine Ridge is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
- New Goshen
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Shepardsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Shepardsville is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shepardsville
- Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Barnhart Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Barnhart Town is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnhart Town
- Harrison
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Harrison is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Liggett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Liggett is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liggett
- Spelterville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Spelterville is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spelterville
- Toad Hop
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Toad Hop is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toad Hop
- Terre Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Terre Town is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terre Town
- West Terre Haute
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Melwood, see our County-by-County Page for Melwood.
Cemeteries Near Melwood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Melwood.
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 Melwood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Melwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Melwood, with the one closest to Melwood listed first.
- Payne Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Young America Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Catfish Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Zimmerman Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Embarrass Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Catfish Point Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Cherry Point Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Scott Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Albin Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Franklin Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Bloomfield Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Continue List (401 more) ...
- Hoult Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Fairview Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Gwinn Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
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, Melwood had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Melwood, with the one closest to Melwood listed first.
- Hughes
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Hughes is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughes
- Hume
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Metcalf
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Brocton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Garland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Garland is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
- Newman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Cherry Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Cherry Point is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Point
- Hildreth
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Hildreth is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hildreth
- Palermo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Palermo is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palermo
- Isabel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Isabel is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabel
- Borton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Borton is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borton
- Redmon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Horace
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Horace is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horace
- Edgar
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Edgar is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgar
- Mays
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mays is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mays
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Melwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Melwood.
Newspapers Published in Melwood ...
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 106 newspapers that have been published in the area around Melwood.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Melwood, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Melwood.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Melwood:
- 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 Melwood, 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- Melwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |