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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 Montezuma (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 Montezuma. 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 hospitals 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.

Montezuma is located in Pike 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 Pike County: Adams, Brown, Calhoun, Greene, Morgan, Scott, Marion (MO), Pike (MO) & Ralls (MO).

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

  • Pike County     (The home county of Montezuma)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Montezuma, with the one closest to Montezuma listed first.
    • Bedford
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Milton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Florence
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Florence is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
    • Detroit
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Detroit is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Detroit
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
    • Pearl
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Time
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Time is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Time
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23 people
    • Bee Creek
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Bee Creek is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee Creek
    • Straut
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Straut is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straut
    • Valley City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Valley City is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14 people
    • Pittsfield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Griggsville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Nebo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Adams County
    • Beverly
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Beverly is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Montezuma, with the one closest to Montezuma listed first.
    • Versailles
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Gilbirds
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Gilbirds is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbirds
    • Cooperstown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Cooperstown is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooperstown
    • Hersman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Hersman is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hersman
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Montezuma, with the one closest to Montezuma listed first.
    • Cliffdale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Cliffdale is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffdale
    • Kampsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Belleview
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Belleview is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
    • Mozier
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Michael
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Hamburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Hardin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Gilead
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Gilead is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
    • Star City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Star City is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Montezuma, with the one closest to Montezuma listed first.
    • Arenzville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Hagener
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Hagener is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagener
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Montezuma, with the one closest to Montezuma listed first.
    • Wilmington
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Wilmington is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
    • Hillview
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Patterson
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Roodhouse
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Walkerville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Walkerville is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkerville
    • White Hall
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Belltown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Belltown is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown
    • Eldred
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Wrights
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Woody
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Woody is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woody
    • Carrollton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Greenfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Jersey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Montezuma, with the one closest to Montezuma listed first.
    • Spankey
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Spankey is located in Jersey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spankey
    • Fieldon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Macoupin County
    • Scottville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
  • Morgan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Montezuma, with the one closest to Montezuma listed first.
    • Lynnville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Lynnville is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 113 people
    • Morgan City ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Morgan City is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan City
    • Murrayville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Chapin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Woodson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Meredosia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Concord
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • South Jacksonville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • South Jacksonville is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Jacksonville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,075 people
    • Jacksonville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Pisgah
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Pisgah is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
    • Arnold
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Arnold is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
    • Arcadia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Arcadia is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
  • Scott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Montezuma, with the one closest to Montezuma listed first.
    • Glasgow
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Glasgow is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
    • Alsey
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Winchester
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Oxville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Oxville is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxville
    • Exeter
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Exeter is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
    • Manchester
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Bluffs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Naples
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Lincoln County (MO)
    • Elsberry
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Elsberry is located in Lincoln County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elsberry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,098 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elsberry <1>
  • Pike County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Montezuma, with the one closest to Montezuma listed first.
    • Clarksville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Annada
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Annada is located in Pike County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annada
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 28 people
    • Paynesville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Paynesville is located in Pike County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
    • Louisiana
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Calumet
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Calumet is located in Pike County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calumet
    • Sledd
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Sledd is located in Pike County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sledd

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

Cemeteries Near Montezuma ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Montezuma.

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

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

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

  • Bedford Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Montezuma Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Clemmons Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Thurman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Adams Family Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Douglas Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Watt Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Milton - Smith Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • French Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Green Pond Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Florence Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Wilson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (502 more) ...
    • Wilson Farm Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Frame Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cox Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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, Montezuma had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Bedford
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Milton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Florence
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Florence is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
  • Glasgow
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Glasgow is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
  • Pearl
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Detroit
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Detroit is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Detroit
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
  • Patterson
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Alsey
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Time
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Time is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Time
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 23 people
  • Straut
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Straut is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straut
  • Bee Creek
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Bee Creek is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee Creek
  • Barrow
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Barrow is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrow
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Oxville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Oxville is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxville
    • Valley City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Valley City is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14 people
    • Roodhouse
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Montezuma ...

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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Montezuma.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Montezuma, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Montezuma.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Montezuma:

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 Montezuma, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Montezuma) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.