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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 Orleans (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 Orleans. 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.

Orleans is located in Morgan 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 Morgan County: Brown, Cass, Greene, Macoupin, Pike, Sangamon & Scott.

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

  • Morgan County     (The home county of Orleans)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orleans, with the one closest to Orleans listed first.
    • Alexander
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Arnold
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Arnold is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
    • Pisgah
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Pisgah is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
    • Franklin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jacksonville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • South Jacksonville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • South Jacksonville is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Jacksonville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,075 people
    • Prentice
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Prentice is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prentice
    • Woodson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Arcadia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Arcadia is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
    • Literberry
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Waverly
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Murrayville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orleans, with the one closest to Orleans listed first.
    • Ashland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Old Princeton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Old Princeton is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Princeton
    • Gurney ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Gurney is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gurney
    • Philadelphia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Philadelphia is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philadelphia
    • Burlingame
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Burlingame is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
    • Virginia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Sylvan ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Sylvan is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan
    • Arenzville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Newmansville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Newmansville is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newmansville
    • Jules
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jules is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jules
    • Hagener
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Hagener is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagener
    • Chandlerville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orleans, with the one closest to Orleans listed first.
    • Roodhouse
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • White Hall
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Wrights
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Greenfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Patterson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Wilmington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Wilmington is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
    • Belltown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Belltown is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown
    • Hillview
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Macoupin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orleans, with the one closest to Orleans listed first.
    • Modesto
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Scottville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Palmyra
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Virden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Girard
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Hettick
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Nilwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hagaman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Hagaman is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagaman
    • Comer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Comer is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
    • Standard City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Standard City is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standard City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orleans, with the one closest to Orleans listed first.
    • White City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • White City is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Snicarte
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Snicarte is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snicarte
    • Kilbourne
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Menard County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orleans, with the one closest to Orleans listed first.
    • Tallula
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Petersburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Athens
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Oakford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Greenview
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orleans, with the one closest to Orleans listed first.
    • Farmersville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • White Oak
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • White Oak is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
  • Pike County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orleans, with the one closest to Orleans listed first.
    • Florence
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Florence is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
    • Bedford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Valley City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Valley City is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14 people
  • Sangamon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orleans, with the one closest to Orleans listed first.
    • New Berlin
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Berlin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Berlin is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
    • Maxwell ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Maxwell is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
    • Loami
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Pasfield
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Pasfield is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pasfield
    • Pleasant Plains
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Curran
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Curran is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curran
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Lowder
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Salisbury
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Salisbury is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
    • Auburn
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Chatham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Jerome
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Jerome is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,575 people
  • Schuyler County
  • Scott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orleans, with the one closest to Orleans listed first.
    • Manchester
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Alsey
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Winchester
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Exeter
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Exeter is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
    • Glasgow
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Glasgow is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
    • Bluffs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Oxville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Oxville is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxville
    • Naples
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Orleans ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Orleans.

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 Orleans - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Antioch Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Pisgah Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Sulphur Springs Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Union Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Scott Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Holmes Daniel D Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Luken Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • South Fork Mauvaise Terre Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Asbury Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Hoag Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Craig - Burrows Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Hebron Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (441 more) ...
    • Foutch Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Wilcox Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • St. Mary's Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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 Orleans had a population of 38 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Alexander
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Arnold
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Arnold is located in Morgan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
  • Pisgah
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Pisgah is located in Morgan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
  • Sinclair
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Sinclair is located in Morgan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinclair
  • Franklin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Jacksonville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • New Berlin
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Maxwell ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Maxwell is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
  • Berlin
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Berlin is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
  • Prentice
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Prentice is located in Morgan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prentice
  • Jordanville ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jordanville is located in Morgan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordanville
  • Woodson
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Waverly
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Ashland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Literberry
      (11 miles [17.7 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 Orleans. See our List of 1890's Communities around Orleans.

Newspapers Published in Orleans ...

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 175 newspapers that have been published in the area around Orleans.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Orleans, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Orleans.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Orleans:

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