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 Midway (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 Midway. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Midway is located in Massac 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 Massac County: Johnson, Pope, Pulaski, Livingston (KY) & McCracken (KY).
Below are the counties that are near Midway. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Midway:
- Massac County (The home county of Midway)
- The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Big Bay
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Big Bay is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bay
- Brookport
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Metropolis
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Shady Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Shady Grove is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Massac City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Massac City is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massac City
- New Columbia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- New Columbia is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Columbia
- Unionville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Unionville is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- Joppa
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Hardin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Shetlerville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Shetlerville is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shetlerville
- Mineral City ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Mineral City is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral City
- Rosiclare
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Elizabethtown
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Karbers Ridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cave-In-Rock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cave-In-Rock is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave-In-Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 278 people
- Cave-In-Rock has also been known as:
- Cave-In-Rock village
- Rock Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Creek is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Reevesville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Reevesville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reevesville
- Grantsburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wartrace
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Wartrace is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartrace
- Bender ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bender is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bender
- Simpson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Belknap
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Vienna
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Reynoldsburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Reynoldsburg is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsburg
- Ozark
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Cypress
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- New Burnside
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Buncombe
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Pope County
- The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Bay City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bay City is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay City
- Dixon Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Dixon Springs is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon Springs
- Rock
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Rock is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
- Golconda
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hamletsburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Glendale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Glendale is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Eddyville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Lusk
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lusk is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lusk
- Leisure City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Leisure City is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure City
- McCormick
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- McCormick is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCormick
- Hartsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Hartsville is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsville
- Oak
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Oak is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Karnak
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Grand Chain
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- New Grand Chain
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Olmsted
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Perks
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Ullin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Saline County
- The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Stonefort
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Mitchellsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Mitchellsville is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchellsville
- Carrier Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Carrier Mills is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrier Mills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,527 people
- Former names for Carrier Mills:
- Carriers Mills
- Morrilsville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carrier Mills <1>
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Mount Pleasant
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Dongola
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Creal Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Crest
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Crest is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Crest
- Ballard County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Kevil
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ceredo
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Ceredo is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceredo
- Bandana
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Bandana is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandana
- Lovelaceville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lovelaceville is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovelaceville
- Gage
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gage is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gage
- La Center
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Barlow
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Barlow is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 628 people
- Blandville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- 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 Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Cunningham
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Kirbyton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kirbyton is located in Carlisle County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbyton
- Crittenden County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Dycusburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Dycusburg is located in Crittenden County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dycusburg
- Population from the 2010 Census: 26 people
- Sheridan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Sheridan is located in Crittenden County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
- Tolu
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Tolu is located in Crittenden County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolu
- Crayne
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Crayne is located in Crittenden County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crayne
- Graves County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Melber
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Melber is located in Graves County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melber
- Symsonia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Boaz
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Lowes
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lowes is located in Graves County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowes
- West Viola
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- West Viola is located in Graves County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Viola
- Pottsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Pottsville is located in Graves County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottsville
- Hickory
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Hickory is located in Graves County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
- Westplains
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Westplains is located in Graves County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westplains
- Livingston County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Hampton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Hampton is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
- Smithland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Burna
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Burna is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burna
- Ledbetter
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Carrsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Carrsville is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
- Lola
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Lola is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lola
- Pinckneyville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Pinckneyville is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinckneyville
- Salem
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Salem is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 717 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Salem <1>
- Tiline
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Tiline is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiline
- Lake City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lake City is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
- Grand Rivers
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lyon County (KY)
- Kuttawa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Marshall County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Sharpe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sharpe is located in Marshall County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpe
- Calvert City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Calvert City is located in Marshall County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvert City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,509 people
- Calvert City has also been known as:
- Calvert
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Calvert City <1>
- Gilbertsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Scale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Scale is located in Marshall County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scale
- Tatumsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Tatumsville is located in Marshall County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tatumsville
- Benton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- McCracken County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Paducah
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Grahamville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Grahamville is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahamville
- West Paducah
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hendron
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Hendron is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendron
- Lone Oak
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Lone Oak is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Oak
- Oakdale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Oakdale is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
- Ragland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Ragland is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragland
- Cimota City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cimota City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cimota City
- Future City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Future City
- West Future City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- West Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Future City
- Massac
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Massac is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massac
- Camelia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Camelia is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelia
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Midway, see our County-by-County Page for Midway.
Cemeteries Near Midway ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Midway.
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 Midway - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Midway covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Westerman Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Canaan Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Johnson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Wilkins Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Armstrong Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Kingston Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Golightly Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Antioch Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kennedy Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Douglas Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Buzzard Roost Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sycamore Plain Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Continue List (533 more) ...
- Independence Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Temple Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple Hill Cemetery
- The Temple Hill Cemetery has also been known as:
- Cole Springs Cemetery
- Bumgardner Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
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 Midway in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Midway.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Rosebud
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rosebud is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosebud
- Temple Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Temple Hill is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple Hill
- Round Knob
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Round Knob is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Knob
- Tansill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tansill is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tansill
- Metropolis
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bay City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bay City is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay City
- Big Bay
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Big Bay is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bay
- Reevesville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Reevesville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reevesville
- Unionville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Unionville is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- New Columbia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- New Columbia is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Columbia
- Allens Spring
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Allens Spring is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Spring
- Paducah
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Birdsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Birdsville is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdsville
- Waltersburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Waltersburg is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltersburg
- Samoth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Samoth is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samoth
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Midway. See our List of 1890's Communities around Midway.
Newspapers Published in Midway ...
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 103 newspapers that have been published in the area around Midway.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Midway, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Midway.
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 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 Midway:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Massac County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hardin County
- Johnson County
- Pope County
- Pulaski County
- Saline County
- Union County
- Williamson County
- Ballard County
- Carlisle County
- Crittenden County
- Graves County
- Livingston County
- Lyon County
- Marshall County
- McCracken 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 Midway, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Midway) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |