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 Oldtown (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 Oldtown. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Oldtown is located in Saline 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 Saline County: Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Johnson, Pope, White & Williamson.
Below are the counties that are near Oldtown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oldtown:
- Saline County (The home county of Oldtown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oldtown, with the one closest to Oldtown listed first.
- Stonefort
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Carrier Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Carrier Mills is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrier Mills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,527 people
- Former names for Carrier Mills:
- Carriers Mills
- Morrilsville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carrier Mills <1>
- Mitchellsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Mitchellsville is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchellsville
- Ledford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ledford is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledford
- Liberty
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Buena Vista
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Buena Vista is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Gaskins City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Gaskins City is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaskins City
- Harrisburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Muddy
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Galatia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Wasson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wasson is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasson
- Raleigh
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oldtown, with the one closest to Oldtown listed first.
- Fitt's Hill ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Fitt's Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitt's Hill
- Thompsonville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Parrish
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Parrish is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Deering City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Deering City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deering City
- West Frankfort
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- West Frankfort is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Frankfort
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,733 people
- Hanaford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Hanaford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanaford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
- Smothersville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Smothersville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
- Akin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Cambon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cambon is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambon
- Orient
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Plumfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Plumfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
- Zeigler
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Gallatin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oldtown, with the one closest to Oldtown listed first.
- Equality
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lawler
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Lawler is located in Gallatin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawler
- Junction
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Elba
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Elba is located in Gallatin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
- Bowlesville ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Bowlesville is located in Gallatin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlesville
- Ridgway
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Shawneetown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Omaha
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Old Shawneetown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Old Shawneetown is located in Gallatin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Shawneetown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oldtown, with the one closest to Oldtown listed first.
- Walpole
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Walpole is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walpole
- Broughton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Dale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Hardin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oldtown, with the one closest to Oldtown listed first.
- Karbers Ridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Shetlerville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Shetlerville is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shetlerville
- Mineral City ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mineral City is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral City
- Rosiclare
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Elizabethtown
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Rock Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Rock Creek is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Cave-In-Rock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Cave-In-Rock is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave-In-Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 278 people
- Cave-In-Rock has also been known as:
- Cave-In-Rock village
- Saline Landing
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Saline Landing is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saline Landing
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oldtown, with the one closest to Oldtown listed first.
- Makanda
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Carbondale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oldtown, with the one closest to Oldtown listed first.
- New Burnside
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Ozark
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Reynoldsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Reynoldsburg is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsburg
- Simpson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Egyptian Hills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Egyptian Hills is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egyptian Hills
- Deer Ridge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
- Eagle Point Bay
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Eagle Point Bay is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point Bay
- Grantsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Wartrace
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Wartrace is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartrace
- Goreville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Reevesville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Reevesville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reevesville
- Vienna
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Massac County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oldtown, with the one closest to Oldtown listed first.
- Big Bay
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Big Bay is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bay
- New Columbia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- New Columbia is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Columbia
- Joppa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Pope County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oldtown, with the one closest to Oldtown listed first.
- McCormick
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- McCormick is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCormick
- Oak
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Oak is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak
- Eddyville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Glendale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Glendale is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Hartsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Hartsville is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsville
- Herod
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Rock
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Rock is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
- Lusk
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lusk is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lusk
- Dixon Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Dixon Springs is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon Springs
- Leisure City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Leisure City is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure City
- Golconda
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bay City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bay City is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay City
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oldtown, with the one closest to Oldtown listed first.
- Karnak
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- New Grand Chain
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Perks
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Grand Chain
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oldtown, with the one closest to Oldtown listed first.
- Lick Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Mount Pleasant
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Water Valley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Water Valley is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oldtown, with the one closest to Oldtown listed first.
- Creal Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Lake Crest
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Lake Crest is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Crest
- Hartford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Hartford is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
- Pittsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Corinth
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Corinth is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Marion
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Spillertown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Spillertown is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spillertown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Whiteash
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Whiteash is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteash
- Estimated population in 2014: 240 people
- Johnston City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Energy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Stiritz
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Stiritz is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiritz
- Crainville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Crainville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crainville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,419 people
- Crittenden County (KY)
- Tolu
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Tolu is located in Crittenden County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolu
- Livingston County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oldtown, with the one closest to Oldtown listed first.
- Carrsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Carrsville is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
- Hampton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hampton is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
- Lola
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lola is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lola
- Burna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Burna is located in Livingston County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burna
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oldtown, see our County-by-County Page for Oldtown.
Cemeteries Near Oldtown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oldtown.
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 Oldtown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oldtown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oldtown, with the one closest to Oldtown listed first.
- Bozarth Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Blackman Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Joyner Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Jenny Ridge Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Bolton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Henshaw Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Zion Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Beames Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill Cemetery
- The Spring Hill Cemetery has also been known as:
- Springhill Cemetery
- Holmes Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Drake Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Catholic Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (535 more) ...
- Robertson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Rushing Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Old Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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.<2>
While we didn't find Oldtown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oldtown.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oldtown, with the one closest to Oldtown listed first.
- McCormick
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- McCormick is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCormick
- New Burnside
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Ozark
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Parker
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Parker is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parker
- Carrier Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Carrier Mills is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrier Mills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,527 people
- Former names for Carrier Mills:
- Carriers Mills
- Morrilsville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carrier Mills <1>
- Mitchellsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Mitchellsville is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchellsville
- Ledford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ledford is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledford
- Creal Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Tunnel Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Eddyville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Oak
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Oak is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak
- Sandburn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sandburn is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandburn
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Simpson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Glendale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Glendale is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Crab Orchard
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Crab Orchard is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab Orchard
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oldtown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oldtown.
Newspapers Published in Oldtown ...
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 66 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oldtown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oldtown, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oldtown.
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 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 Oldtown:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Saline County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Gallatin County
- Hamilton County
- Hardin County
- Jackson County
- Johnson County
- Massac County
- Pope County
- Pulaski County
- Union County
- Williamson County
- Crittenden County
- Livingston 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> | 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 Oldtown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Oldtown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |