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 Orient (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 Orient. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.
Orient is located in Franklin 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 Franklin County: Hamilton, Jackson, Jefferson, Perry, Saline & Williamson.
Below are the counties that are near Orient. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Orient:
- Franklin County (The home county of Orient)
- The following are listed by their distance from Orient, with the one closest to Orient listed first.
- Cambon
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Cambon is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambon
- West Frankfort
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- West Frankfort is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Frankfort
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,733 people
- Plumfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Plumfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
- Deering City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Deering City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deering City
- Buckner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Zeigler
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- West City
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- West City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 626 people
- Christopher
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- North City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- North City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 566 people
- Rend City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Rend City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rend City
- Benton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Coello
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Royalton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orient, with the one closest to Orient listed first.
- Macedonia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Flint
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Flint is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
- Walpole
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Walpole is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walpole
- Lovilla
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Lovilla is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovilla
- Dahlgren
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Diamond City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Diamond City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond City
- Dale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- McLeansboro
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Broughton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Piopolis
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Piopolis is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piopolis
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orient, with the one closest to Orient listed first.
- Dowell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Elkville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Hallidayboro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Hallidayboro is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallidayboro
- De Soto
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Carbondale
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Vergennes
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Murphysboro
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Oraville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Makanda
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Pomona
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ava
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Gorham
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orient, with the one closest to Orient listed first.
- Emerson City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Emerson City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson City
- Fitzgerrell ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Fitzgerrell is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzgerrell
- Ina
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Ina is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,279 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ina <1>
- Nason
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Dareville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Dareville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dareville
- Scheller
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Bonnie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Waltonville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Marcoe
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Marcoe is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcoe
- Belle Rive
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Opdyke
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Vernon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Roaches
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Roaches is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roaches
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orient, with the one closest to Orient listed first.
- Eagle Point Bay
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Eagle Point Bay is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point Bay
- Deer Ridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
- Egyptian Hills
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Egyptian Hills is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egyptian Hills
- Goreville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- New Burnside
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ozark
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Reynoldsburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Reynoldsburg is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsburg
- Buncombe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orient, with the one closest to Orient listed first.
- Du Quoin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Du Quoin is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Quoin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,591 people
- Saint Johns
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Johns is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Sunfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sunfield is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunfield
- Tamaroa
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Pyatts
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Pyatts is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pyatts
- Pinckneyville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Denmark
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Denmark is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Conant
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Conant is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
- Pope County
- McCormick
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- McCormick is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCormick
- Saline County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orient, with the one closest to Orient listed first.
- Cornerville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Cornerville is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornerville
- Galatia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Long Branch
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Long Branch is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Carrier Mills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- 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>
- Raleigh
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Buena Vista
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Buena Vista is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Ledford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ledford is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledford
- Liberty
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Stonefort
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Harrisburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Muddy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Gaskins City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Gaskins City is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaskins City
- Wasson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Wasson is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasson
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orient, with the one closest to Orient listed first.
- Lick Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Water Valley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Water Valley is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Alto Pass
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cobden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orient, with the one closest to Orient listed first.
- Du Bois
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Du Bois is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Bois
- Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
- Radom
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ashley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Posen
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Posen is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Posen
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orient, with the one closest to Orient listed first.
- Freeman Spur
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Freeman Spur is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman Spur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
- Freeman Spur has also been known as:
- Freeman Spur village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeman Spur <1>
- Stiritz
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Stiritz is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiritz
- Herrin Junction ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Herrin Junction is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrin Junction
- Johnston City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Herrin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Whiteash
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Whiteash is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteash
- Estimated population in 2014: 240 people
- Bush
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bush is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bush
- Population from the 2020 Census: 263 people
- Colp
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Colp is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colp
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Former name for Colp:
- Colpville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colp <1>
- Energy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Spillertown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Spillertown is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spillertown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Blairsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Blairsville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsville
- Dewmaine
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dewmaine is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewmaine
- Hurst
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Orient, see our County-by-County Page for Orient.
Cemeteries Near Orient ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Orient.
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 Orient - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Orient covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Orient, with the one closest to Orient listed first.
- Rose Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Denning Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Hanes Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Bonner Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Freeman Spur Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Follis Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Boner Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boner Cemetery
- The Boner Cemetery has also been known as:
- Boner Chapel Cemetery
- Clayton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lithuanian Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- County Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Oddfellow Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Continue List (490 more) ...
- Trinity Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Tower Heights Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Heights Cemetery
- The Tower Heights Cemetery has also been known as:
- Tower Height Cemetery
- Neal Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.<3>
While we didn't find Orient in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Orient.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Orient, with the one closest to Orient listed first.
- Plumfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Plumfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
- Frankfort
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Frankfort is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankfort
- Buckner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Christopher
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Smothersville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Smothersville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
- Benton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mulkeytown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Fitt's Hill ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Fitt's Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitt's Hill
- Parrish
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Parrish is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Blairsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Blairsville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsville
- Thompsonville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Fredonia ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fredonia is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Carterville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Crainville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Crainville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crainville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,419 people
- Bainbridge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Bainbridge is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainbridge
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Orient. See our List of 1890's Communities around Orient.
Newspapers Published in Orient ...
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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Orient.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Orient, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Orient.
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 Orient:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Franklin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hamilton County
- Jackson County
- Jefferson County
- Johnson County
- Perry County
- Pope County
- Saline County
- Union County
- Washington County
- Williamson 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 Orient, 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- Orient) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |