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 Oakwood Heights (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 Oakwood Heights. 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 Oakwood Heights ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Oakwood Heights: Oakwood Hts. (in Canada, 'Hgts.' is the more common abbreviation.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Oakwood Heights. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Oakwood Heights.
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 northwest 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 north.
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 north 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.
Oakwood Heights is located in Madison 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 Madison County: Bond, Clinton, Jersey, Macoupin, Montgomery, Saint Clair, Saint Charles (MO), Saint Louis City (MO) & Saint Louis (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Oakwood Heights. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oakwood Heights:
- Madison County (The home county of Oakwood Heights)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Heights, with the one closest to Oakwood Heights listed first.
- Rosewood Heights
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Rosewood Heights is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosewood Heights
- Cottage Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Cottage Hills is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Hills
- Wood River
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Bethalto
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Roxana
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- East Alton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- East Alton is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Alton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,922 people
- Moro
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hartford
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- South Roxana
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- South Roxana is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Roxana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,986 people
- Alton
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Poag
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Poag is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poag
- Belmont Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Belmont Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont Village
- Brooks
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Brooks is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
- Bond County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Heights, with the one closest to Oakwood Heights listed first.
- Old Ripley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Old Ripley is located in Bond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Ripley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Pierron
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Sorento
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Pocahontas
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Reno
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Reno is located in Bond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Heights, with the one closest to Oakwood Heights listed first.
- Deer Plain
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Deer Plain is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Plain
- Golden Eagle
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Brussels
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Heights, with the one closest to Oakwood Heights listed first.
- Trenton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Aviston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- New Baden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Rose
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Rose is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Rose
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Heights, with the one closest to Oakwood Heights listed first.
- Kane
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rockbridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Mid City ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mid City is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid City
- Jersey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Heights, with the one closest to Oakwood Heights listed first.
- Delhi
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Delhi is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
- Elsah
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Dow
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- McClusky
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- McClusky is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClusky
- Chautauqua
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Chautauqua is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
- Fidelity
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Grafton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Jerseyville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Otterville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Otterville is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otterville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Fieldon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Nutwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Nutwood is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutwood
- Macoupin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Heights, with the one closest to Oakwood Heights listed first.
- Brighton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Bunker Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Miles Station
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Miles Station is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miles Station
- Piasa
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Royal Lakes
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Royal Lakes is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 185 people
- Royal Lakes has also been known as:
- Royal Lakes village
- Shipman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Dorchester
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Dorchester is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Staunton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wilsonville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Plainview
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Mount Clare
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Clare is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Clare
- Population from the 2020 Census: 262 people
- Sawyerville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Benld
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Monroe County
- Columbia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Heights, with the one closest to Oakwood Heights listed first.
- Walshville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Panama
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Litchfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Heights, with the one closest to Oakwood Heights listed first.
- Brooklyn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Brooklyn is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 687 people
- Fairmont City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Fairmont City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,439 people
- Washington Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Washington Park is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,831 people
- Caseyville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- East Saint Louis
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- National City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Bunkum
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Bunkum is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunkum
- French Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- French Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Village
- Alorton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Fairview Heights
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Sauget
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Centreville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Centreville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,844 people
- O'Fallon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Charles County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Heights, with the one closest to Oakwood Heights listed first.
- West Alton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Portage Des Sioux
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Gardnerville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Gardnerville is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardnerville
- Saint Charles
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Harvester
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Saint Peters
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Saint Louis City (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Heights, with the one closest to Oakwood Heights listed first.
- Baden
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Baden is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
- Saint Louis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Tower Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Tower Grove is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Grove
- University City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- University City is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34,049 people
- Cheltenham
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cheltenham is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheltenham
- Carondelet
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Carondelet is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carondelet
- Saint Louis County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood Heights, with the one closest to Oakwood Heights listed first.
- Spanish Lake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Spanish Lake is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spanish Lake
- Black Jack
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Black Jack is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Jack
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,921 people
- Glasgow Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Glasgow Village is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow Village
- Bellefontaine Neighbors
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bellefontaine Neighbors is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefontaine Neighbors
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,297 people
- Castle Point
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Castle Point is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Point
- Riverview
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Riverview is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,821 people
- Moline Acres
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Moline Acres is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moline Acres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,339 people
- Dellwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dellwood is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,994 people
- Calverton Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Calverton Park is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calverton Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,267 people
- Country Club Hills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Country Club Hills is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,245 people
- Ferguson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ferguson is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,457 people
- Flordell Hills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Flordell Hills is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flordell Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 800 people
- Florissant
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Florissant is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florissant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 50,795 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oakwood Heights, see our County-by-County Page for Oakwood Heights.
Cemeteries Near Oakwood Heights ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oakwood Heights.
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 Oakwood Heights - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oakwood Heights covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oakwood Heights, with the one closest to Oakwood Heights listed first.
- Woodlawn Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Vaughn Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Montgomery Family Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Rose Lawn Memory Gardens
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Lawn Memory Gardens
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Rose Lawn Memory Gardens is a large cemetery that is located in Bethalto.
- The Rose Lawn Memory Gardens has also been known as:
- Della & Howard Gibson Cemetery
- Rose Lawn Memory Gardens / Della & Howard Gibson Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1968588 <2>
- Springley Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Pruett Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Preuitt Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Bethalto UMC Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethalto UMC Cemetery
- The Bethalto UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Bethalto City Cemetery
- Bethalto Methodist Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #640641 <2>
- East Alton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Milton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Short Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Smith Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (475 more) ...
- Alton State Hospital Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wanda Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sanders Family Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
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 Oakwood Heights in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oakwood Heights.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oakwood Heights, with the one closest to Oakwood Heights listed first.
- Bethalto
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wanda
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wanda is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wanda
- Moro
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Upper Alton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Upper Alton is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Alton
- Alton
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Poag
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Poag is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poag
- Fosterburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Fosterburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosterburg
- Brooks
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Brooks is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
- Edwardsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Dorsey
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- North Alton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- North Alton is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Alton
- Mitchell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Mitchell is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Carpenter
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Carpenter is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter
- Prairietown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Prairietown is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairietown
- Godfrey
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oakwood Heights. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oakwood Heights.
Newspapers Published in Oakwood Heights ...
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 113 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oakwood Heights.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oakwood Heights, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oakwood Heights.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Oakwood Heights:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Madison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bond County
- Calhoun County
- Clinton County
- Greene County
- Jersey County
- Macoupin County
- Monroe County
- Montgomery County
- Saint Clair County
- Saint Charles County
- Saint Louis City
- Saint Louis 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 Oakwood Heights, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Oakwood Heights) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |