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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 Old Marissa (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 Old Marissa. 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.

Old Marissa is located in Saint Clair 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 Saint Clair County: Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, Washington, Saint Louis City (MO) & Saint Louis (MO).

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

  • Saint Clair County     (The home county of Old Marissa)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Marissa, with the one closest to Old Marissa listed first.
    • Marissa
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Marissa is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marissa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,785 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marissa <1>
    • Lenzburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Libory
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • New Athens
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • New Athens is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Athens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,865 people
    • Fayetteville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Fayetteville is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 336 people
    • Lementon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lementon is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lementon
    • Freeburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Mascoutah
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Smithton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Belleville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Shiloh
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Shiloh is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,653 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shiloh <1>
    • Lebanon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Lebanon is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lebanon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,225 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lebanon <1>
    • Millstadt
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Marissa, with the one closest to Old Marissa listed first.
    • New Memphis
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Damiansville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Damiansville is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damiansville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 484 people
    • New Baden
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Albers
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Germantown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Trenton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Bartelso
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Aviston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Breese
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Beckemeyer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Posey
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Posey is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Posey
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Marissa, with the one closest to Old Marissa listed first.
    • Campbell Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Degognia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Degognia is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Degognia
    • Ava
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Ava is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ava
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ava <1>
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Marissa, with the one closest to Old Marissa listed first.
    • Hecker
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Burksville Station
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Burksville Station is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville Station
    • Burksville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Burksville is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville
    • Renault
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Waterloo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Wartburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Wartburg is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartburg
    • Foster Pond ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Foster Pond is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Pond
    • Fults
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Madonnaville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Madonnaville is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madonnaville
    • Maeystown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Monroe City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Monroe City is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe City
    • Columbia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Chalfin Bridge
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Chalfin Bridge is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalfin Bridge
  • Perry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Marissa, with the one closest to Old Marissa listed first.
    • Winkle
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Winkle is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winkle
    • Cutler
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Conant
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Conant is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
    • Willisville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Denmark
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Denmark is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
    • Pinckneyville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Pyatts
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Pyatts is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pyatts
    • Tamaroa
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Sunfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Sunfield is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunfield
  • Randolph County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Marissa, with the one closest to Old Marissa listed first.
    • Tilden
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Houston
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Houston is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
    • Baldwin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Sparta
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Coulterville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Preston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Preston is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
    • Walsh
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Walsh is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsh
    • Red Bud
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Blair
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Blair is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair
    • Evansville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Ruma
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Ruma is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
    • New Palestine
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • New Palestine is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Palestine
    • Ellis Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Marissa, with the one closest to Old Marissa listed first.
    • Clarmin
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Clarmin is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarmin
    • Caspars
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Caspars is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caspars
    • Stone Church
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Stone Church is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Church
    • Elkton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Elkton is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
    • Venedy
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Venedy is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venedy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
    • Oakdale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Okawville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Addieville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Nashville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Posen
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Posen is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Posen
    • New Minden
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • New Minden is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Minden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
    • Du Bois
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Du Bois is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Bois
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
    • Hoyleton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Perry County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Marissa, with the one closest to Old Marissa listed first.
    • McBride
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • McBride is located in Perry County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBride
    • Lithium
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Lithium is located in Perry County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithium
  • Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Marissa, with the one closest to Old Marissa listed first.
    • Little Rock Landing ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Little Rock Landing is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock Landing
    • Sainte Genevieve
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Clement ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Clement is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clement
    • Quarry Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Quarry Town is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quarry Town
      • Quarry Town has also been known as:
      • Quarrytown
    • Brickeys
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Brickeys is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickeys
      • Former names for Brickeys:
      • Brickeys Gristmill
      • Brickeys Landing
    • Saint Mary
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Saint Mary is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Mary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 345 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Mary <1>
    • Marlo ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Marlo is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlo
    • Needmore
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Needmore is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
    • Zell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Zell is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zell
    • Bloomsdale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Bloomsdale is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomsdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 562 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bloomsdale <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Old Marissa ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Old Marissa.

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 Old Marissa - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Marissa City Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Moore Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Peters Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Jordan Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Salem Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Darmstadt Memorial Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Leinecke Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hill Prairie Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Tilden City Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Cobb Thompson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Irwin Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Schneider Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (386 more) ...
    • Old Dutch Hill Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Baldwin Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lessley Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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>

While we didn't find Old Marissa in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Old Marissa.

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

  • Marissa
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Marissa is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marissa
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,785 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marissa <1>
  • Tilden
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Lenzburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Caspars
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Caspars is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caspars
  • Houston
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Houston is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
  • Baldwin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Saint Libory
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • New Athens
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • New Athens is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Athens
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,865 people
  • Fayetteville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Fayetteville is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 336 people
  • Lively Grove
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Lively Grove is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lively Grove
  • Sparta
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Coulterville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Stone Church
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Stone Church is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Church
    • Johannisburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Johannisburg is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johannisburg
    • Preston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Preston is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston

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

Newspapers Published in Old Marissa ...

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 199 newspapers that have been published in the area around Old Marissa.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Old Marissa, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Old Marissa.

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 Old Marissa:

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