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 New Boston (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 New Boston. 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.
New Boston is located in Mercer 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 Mercer County: Des Moines (IA), Louisa (IA), Henderson, Henry, Knox, Rock Island & Warren.
Below are the counties that are near New Boston. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to New Boston:
- Mercer County (The home county of New Boston)
- The following are listed by their distance from New Boston, with the one closest to New Boston listed first.
- Mannon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mannon is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mannon
- Keithsburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Joy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Eliza
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Eliza is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eliza
- Petersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Petersville is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersville
- Seaton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Aledo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Sunbeam
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Sunbeam is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunbeam
- Marston
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Marston is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marston
- Burgess
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Burgess is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burgess
- Shale City
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Shale City is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shale City
- Gilchrist
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Gilchrist is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilchrist
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from New Boston, with the one closest to New Boston listed first.
- Milroy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Milroy is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milroy
- Oquawka
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Rozetta
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rozetta is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rozetta
- Gladstone
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Biggsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Biggsville is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biggsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
- Gulf Port
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Gulf Port is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Port
- Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
- Olena
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Olena is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olena
- Media
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Media is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Media
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Carman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Stronghurst
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Rock Island County
- The following are listed by their distance from New Boston, with the one closest to New Boston listed first.
- Buffalo Prairie
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Illinois City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Illinois City is located in Rock Island County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illinois City
- Edgington
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Edgington is located in Rock Island County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgington
- Reynolds
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Taylor Ridge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Andalusia
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Grove is located in Rock Island County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 585 people
- Coyne Center
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Coyne Center is located in Rock Island County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coyne Center
- Milan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from New Boston, with the one closest to New Boston listed first.
- Little York
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Eleanor
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Eleanor is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eleanor
- Gerlaw
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Kirkwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Monmouth
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Shanghai City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Shanghai City is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanghai City
- Smithshire
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Utah
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Utah is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utah
- Des Moines County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from New Boston, with the one closest to New Boston listed first.
- Kingston
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Kingston is located in Des Moines County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Mediapolis
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sperry
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sperry is located in Des Moines County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sperry
- Dodgeville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Dodgeville is located in Des Moines County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
- Yarmouth
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Kline
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Kline is located in Des Moines County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kline
- Burlington
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- West Burlington
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Danville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Danville is located in Des Moines County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
- Middletown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Middletown is located in Des Moines County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
- Patterson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Patterson is located in Des Moines County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Henry County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from New Boston, with the one closest to New Boston listed first.
- Mount Union
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Mount Union is located in Henry County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
- Estimated population in 2017: 107 people
- Winfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- New London
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Olds
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Olds is located in Henry County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Swedesburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Swedesburg is located in Henry County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedesburg
- Louisa County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from New Boston, with the one closest to New Boston listed first.
- Oakville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Elrick Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Elrick Junction is located in Louisa County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elrick Junction
- Wapello
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Wapello is located in Louisa County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapello
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,999 people
- Grandview
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Grandview is located in Louisa County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 519 people
- Morning Sun
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Letts
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fredonia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Fredonia is located in Louisa County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Columbus City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Columbus City is located in Louisa County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 371 people
- Columbus Junction
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Wyman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Wyman is located in Louisa County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
- Cotter
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Cotter is located in Louisa County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
- Gladwin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Gladwin is located in Louisa County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladwin
- Muscatine County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from New Boston, with the one closest to New Boston listed first.
- Fruitland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fruitland is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
- Muscatine
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Fairport
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Fairport is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairport
- Pine Mills ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Pine Mills is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Mills
- Midway Beach
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Midway Beach is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway Beach
- Conesville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Conesville is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 427 people
- Pleasant Prairie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Prairie is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Prairie
- Nichols
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Nichols is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichols
- Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
- Moscow
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Moscow is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- South Towne Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- South Towne Park is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Towne Park
- Atalissa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Wilton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Wilton is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,800 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilton <1>
- Scott County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from New Boston, with the one closest to New Boston listed first.
- Buffalo
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Blue Grass
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Durant
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Washington County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from New Boston, with the one closest to New Boston listed first.
- Crawfordsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Ainsworth
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to New Boston, see our County-by-County Page for New Boston.
Cemeteries Near New Boston ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of New Boston.
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 New Boston - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for New Boston covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from New Boston, with the one closest to New Boston listed first.
- New Boston Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Parson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Davis Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mallory Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Smith Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mannon Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Shields Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Keithsburg Greenmound Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- St. Mary's Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Edwards Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Brick Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Peniel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peniel Cemetery
- The Peniel Cemetery has also been known as:
- Peniel Presbyterian Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #232402 <2>
- Continue List (331 more) ...
- Eliza Creek Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Potter's Timber Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Memorial Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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 New Boston had a population of 445 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, New Boston had a population of 644 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from New Boston, with the one closest to New Boston listed first.
- Toolesboro
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Toolesboro is located in Louisa County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toolesboro
- Mannon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mannon is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mannon
- Oakville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Keithsburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Joy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Ogle
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ogle is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogle
- Petersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Petersville is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersville
- Eliza
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Eliza is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eliza
- Northfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Northfield is located in Des Moines County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northfield
- Huron
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Huron is located in Des Moines County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron
- Wapello
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Wapello is located in Louisa County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapello
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,999 people
- Millersburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Millersburg is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Newport
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Newport is located in Louisa County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Milroy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Milroy is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milroy
- Seaton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around New Boston. See our List of 1890's Communities around New Boston.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of New Boston ...
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 120 newspapers that have been published in the area around New Boston.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of New Boston. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of New Boston and those printed in the larger area surrounding New Boston.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4> of New Boston.
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 helpful 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 New Boston:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Mercer County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Henderson County
- Rock Island County
- Warren County
- Des Moines County
- Henry County
- Louisa County
- Muscatine County
- Scott County
- Washington 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 New Boston, 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- New Boston) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |