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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 Mount Clare (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 Mount Clare. 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 Mount Clare ...

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 occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Mount Clare: Mt. Clare

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Mount Clare. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Mount Clare.

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 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.

Mount Clare is located in Macoupin 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 Macoupin County: Greene, Jersey, Madison, Montgomery, Morgan & Sangamon.

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

  • Macoupin County     (The home county of Mount Clare)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Clare, with the one closest to Mount Clare listed first.
    • Gillespie
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Benld
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Benld is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benld
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,406 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Benld <1>
    • Sawyerville
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Eagarville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • East Gillespie
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • East Gillespie is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gillespie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 259 people
    • Wilsonville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • White City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • White City is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 230 people
    • Dorchester
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Dorchester is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorchester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
    • Lake Ka-ho
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Lake Ka-ho is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ka-ho
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
      • Lake Ka-ho has also been known as:
      • Lake Ka-Ho village
    • Mount Olive
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Hornsby
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Hornsby is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornsby
    • Staunton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Bond County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Clare, with the one closest to Mount Clare listed first.
    • Sorento
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Reno
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Reno is located in Bond County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
    • Old Ripley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Old Ripley is located in Bond County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Ripley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
    • Pocahontas
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Pierron
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Greenville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Smithboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Christian County
    • Morrisonville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Clare, with the one closest to Mount Clare listed first.
    • Rockbridge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Kane
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Jersey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Clare, with the one closest to Mount Clare listed first.
    • Fidelity
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Delhi
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Delhi is located in Jersey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
    • Jerseyville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • McClusky
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • McClusky is located in Jersey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClusky
    • Dow
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Elsah
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Otterville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Otterville is located in Jersey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otterville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Clare, with the one closest to Mount Clare listed first.
    • Williamson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Livingston
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Prairietown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Prairietown is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairietown
    • Worden
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • New Douglas
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Dorsey
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Hamel
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Alhambra
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Moro
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bethalto
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Fruit
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Fruit is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruit
    • Cottage Hills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Cottage Hills is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Hills
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Clare, with the one closest to Mount Clare listed first.
    • Litchfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Walshville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Honey Bend
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Honey Bend is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Bend
    • Shop Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Shop Creek is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shop Creek
    • Panama
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Taylor Springs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Butler
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Donnellson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Hillsboro
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Schram City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Schram City is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schram City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 542 people
    • Raymond
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Waggoner
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Sangamon County
    • Thayer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Saint Charles County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Clare, with the one closest to Mount Clare listed first.
    • West Alton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • West Alton is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Alton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 529 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Alton <1>
    • Portage Des Sioux
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Saint Louis County (MO)
    • Spanish Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Spanish Lake is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spanish Lake

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

Cemeteries Near Mount Clare ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mount Clare.

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 Mount Clare - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Benld Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Holy Assumption Russian Orthodox Creek Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Cahokia Holy Cross Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Gillespie City Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Tine Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Clark Family Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Chapman Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Wheeler Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Luken Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Memorial Park Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Mt. Olive Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (414 more) ...
    • Cavalry Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Union Miners Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)

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

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

  • Gillespie
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Dorchester
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Dorchester is located in Macoupin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorchester
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
  • Mount Olive
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Staunton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Hornsby
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hornsby is located in Macoupin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornsby
  • Bunker Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Plainview
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Prairietown
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Prairietown is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairietown
  • Litchfield
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Macoupin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Macoupin is located in Macoupin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macoupin
  • Worden
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Walshville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • Shipman
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Dorsey
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Carlinville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Mount Clare ...

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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mount Clare.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mount Clare, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mount Clare.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Mount Clare:

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 Mount Clare, 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' (or 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- Mount Clare) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.