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 Olive Branch (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 Olive Branch. 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 Olive Branch ...
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 Olive Branch: Olive Br. (or less commonly used: Olive Brnch.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Olive Branch. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Olive Branch.
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.
Olive Branch is located in Alexander 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 Alexander County: Pulaski, Union, Ballard (KY), Cape Girardeau (MO), Mississippi (MO) & Scott (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Olive Branch. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Olive Branch:
- Alexander County (The home county of Olive Branch)
- The following are listed by their distance from Olive Branch, with the one closest to Olive Branch listed first.
- Miller City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Hodges Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hodges Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges Park
- Unity
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Diswood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Diswood is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diswood
- Tamms
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Thebes
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Thebes is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thebes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Cache
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Frog City ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Frog City is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog City
- Elco
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- East Cape Girardeau
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- East Cape Girardeau is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cape Girardeau
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- McClure
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cairo Junction
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cairo Junction is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo Junction
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Olive Branch, with the one closest to Olive Branch listed first.
- Cypress
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Belknap
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bender ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bender is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bender
- Buncombe
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Vienna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Massac County
- Joppa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Olive Branch, with the one closest to Olive Branch listed first.
- Villa Ridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Villa Ridge is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Ridge
- Pulaski
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mounds
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mounds is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mounds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
- Ullin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mound City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Olmsted
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Perks
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Grand Chain
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- New Grand Chain
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Karnak
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Olive Branch, with the one closest to Olive Branch listed first.
- Reynoldsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Reynoldsville is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
- Mill Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mill Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Dongola
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dutch Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Dutch Mills is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Mills
- Anna
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Jonesboro
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Wolf Lake
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Mount Pleasant
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Cobden
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Alto Pass
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Water Valley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Water Valley is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Lick Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Ballard County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Olive Branch, with the one closest to Olive Branch listed first.
- Barlow
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Barlow is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 628 people
- Wickliffe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- La Center
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Bandana
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Bandana is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandana
- Kevil
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Blandville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Blandville is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blandville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
- Ceredo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Ceredo is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceredo
- Gage
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Gage is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gage
- Carlisle County (KY)
- Bardwell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- McCracken County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Olive Branch, with the one closest to Olive Branch listed first.
- Ragland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Ragland is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragland
- Woodville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Woodville is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Cimota City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Cimota City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cimota City
- West Future City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- West Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Future City
- Bollinger County (MO)
- Laflin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Laflin is located in Bollinger County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laflin
- Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Olive Branch, with the one closest to Olive Branch listed first.
- Cape Girardeau
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dutchtown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Dutchtown is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchtown
- Estimated population in 2018: 94 people
- Gordonville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Delta
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Delta is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 421 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Delta <1>
- Jackson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jackson is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,699 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jackson <1>
- Allenville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Allenville is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
- Randles
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Randles is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randles
- Cliff ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Cliff is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliff
- Leemon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Leemon is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemon
- Whitewater
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Whitewater is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitewater
- Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
- Green Cox
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Green Cox is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Cox
- Crump
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Crump is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crump
- Mississippi County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Olive Branch, with the one closest to Olive Branch listed first.
- Charleston
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Charleston is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,015 people
- Greenfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Greenfield is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Wyatt
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wyatt is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Bertrand
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Bertrand is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertrand
- Population from the 2020 Census: 747 people
- Wilson City
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Wilson City is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
- Anniston
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Anniston is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anniston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- East Prairie
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Whiting
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Whiting is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiting
- Thirtyfour Corner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Thirtyfour Corner is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thirtyfour Corner
- Pinhook
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Pinhook is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinhook
- Estimated population in 2012: 30 people
- Wolf Island
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Wolf Island is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Island
- New Madrid County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Olive Branch, with the one closest to Olive Branch listed first.
- Sikeston
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Morehouse
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Morehouse is located in New Madrid County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morehouse
- Population from the 2020 Census: 844 people
- Matthews
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Scott County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Olive Branch, with the one closest to Olive Branch listed first.
- Commerce
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Scott City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Kelso
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Benton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lambert
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lambert is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert
- Population from the 2010 Census: 34 people
- New Hamburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- New Hamburg is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hamburg
- Blodgett
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Blodgett is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blodgett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
- Diehlstadt
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Diehlstadt is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diehlstadt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
- Morley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Morley is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
- Haywood City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Haywood City is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Chaffee
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Oran
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Oran is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oran
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oran <1>
- Stoddard County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Olive Branch, with the one closest to Olive Branch listed first.
- Painton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Painton is located in Stoddard County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Painton
- Bell City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Bell City is located in Stoddard County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people
- Tillman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Tillman is located in Stoddard County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillman
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Olive Branch, see our County-by-County Page for Olive Branch.
Cemeteries Near Olive Branch ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Olive Branch.
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 Olive Branch - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Olive Branch covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Olive Branch, with the one closest to Olive Branch listed first.
- Olive Branch Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Richwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Twente Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Miller Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Hargis Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Childers Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Santa Fe Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Hodges Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Uninty Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Miller Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Thompson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Continue List (334 more) ...
- Ross Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Schendler Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Solomon 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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Olive Branch had a population of 45 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Olive Branch, with the one closest to Olive Branch listed first.
- Unity
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hodges Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hodges Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges Park
- Sandusky
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sandusky is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
- Willard
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Willard is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
- Commerce
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Thebes
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Thebes is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thebes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Villa Ridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Villa Ridge is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Ridge
- Pulaski
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mounds
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mounds is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mounds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
- Elco
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- McClure
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mound City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Ullin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- East Cape Girardeau
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- East Cape Girardeau is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cape Girardeau
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Kelso
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Olive Branch. See our List of 1890's Communities around Olive Branch.
Newspapers Published in Olive Branch ...
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 124 newspapers that have been published in the area around Olive Branch.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Olive Branch, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Olive Branch.
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 Olive Branch:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Alexander County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Johnson County
- Massac County
- Pulaski County
- Union County
- Ballard County
- Carlisle County
- McCracken County
- Bollinger County
- Cape Girardeau County
- Mississippi County
- New Madrid County
- Scott County
- Stoddard 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 Olive Branch, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Olive Branch) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |