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 Otterville (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 Otterville. 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 and hospitals 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.
Otterville is located in Jersey 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 Jersey County: Calhoun, Greene, Macoupin, Madison & Saint Charles (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Otterville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Otterville:
- Jersey County (The home county of Otterville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- McClusky
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- McClusky is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClusky
- Dow
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Chautauqua
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Chautauqua is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
- Grafton
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jerseyville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Fieldon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Delhi
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Delhi is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
- Elsah
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Nutwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Nutwood is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutwood
- Spankey
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Spankey is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spankey
- Fidelity
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Deer Plain
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Deer Plain is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Plain
- Brussels
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Batchtown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Hardin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Golden Eagle
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Gilead
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Gilead is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Star City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Star City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
- Michael
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Kampsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hamburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cliffdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cliffdale is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffdale
- Mozier
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Kane
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Mid City ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Mid City is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid City
- East Hardin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- East Hardin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hardin
- Woody
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Woody is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woody
- Carrollton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Rockbridge
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Eldred
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Belltown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Belltown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown
- Greenfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Walkerville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Walkerville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkerville
- Wrights
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- White Hall
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Macoupin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Brighton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Miles Station
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Miles Station is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miles Station
- Piasa
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Medora
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Summerville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Summerville is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
- Challacombe
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Challacombe is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Challacombe
- Shipman
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Chesterfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bunker Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Plainview
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Royal Lakes
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Royal Lakes is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 185 people
- Royal Lakes has also been known as:
- Royal Lakes village
- Hagaman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hagaman is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagaman
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Godfrey
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Melville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Melville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melville
- Altamont
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Belmont Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Belmont Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont Village
- Alton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- East Alton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- East Alton is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Alton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,922 people
- Cottage Hills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cottage Hills is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Hills
- Rosewood Heights
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Rosewood Heights is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosewood Heights
- Dorsey
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Bethalto
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Moro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wood River
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pike County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Bee Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bee Creek is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee Creek
- Pearl
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Brooklyn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Brooklyn is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 687 people
- National City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lincoln County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Cap au Gris
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Cap au Gris is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cap au Gris
- Foley
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Winfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Old Monroe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Argentville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Argentville is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argentville
- Elsberry
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Chain-of-Rocks
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Chain-of-Rocks is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chain-of-Rocks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Fountain N' Lakes
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Fountain N' Lakes is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain N' Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
- Fountain N' Lakes has also been known as:
- Fountain N' Lakes village
- New Hope
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- New Hope is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Moscow Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Pike County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Annada
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Annada is located in Pike County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annada
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28 people
- Sledd
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sledd is located in Pike County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sledd
- Paynesville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Paynesville is located in Pike County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
- Saint Charles County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Portage Des Sioux
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- West Alton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Gardnerville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Gardnerville is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardnerville
- Saint Charles
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Saint Peters
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Harvester
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- O'Fallon
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- O'Fallon is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Fallon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 89,769 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for O'Fallon <1>
- Saint Paul
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Paul is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,796 people
- All Saints Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- All Saints Village is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for All Saints Village
- Cottleville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Josephville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Josephville is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josephville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 485 people
- Dardenne Prairie
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Louis City (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Baden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Baden is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
- University City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- University City is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34,049 people
- Cheltenham
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Cheltenham is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheltenham
- Tower Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Tower Grove is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Grove
- Saint Louis County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Florissant
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Florissant is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florissant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 50,795 people
- Black Jack
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Black Jack is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Jack
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,921 people
- Bridgeton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Bridgeton is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,498 people
- Earth City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Hazelwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Berkeley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Berkeley is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkeley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,892 people
- Calverton Park
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Calverton Park is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calverton Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,267 people
- Spanish Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Spanish Lake is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spanish Lake
- Castle Point
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Castle Point is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Point
- Champ
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Champ is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champ
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13 people
- Dellwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Dellwood is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,994 people
- Edmundson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Edmundson is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmundson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 828 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Otterville, see our County-by-County Page for Otterville.
Cemeteries Near Otterville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Otterville.
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 Otterville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Otterville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- McDowell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Dougherty Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Hamilton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Noble Family Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Davenport Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- White Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Falkner Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Hinson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Dabbs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Edsall Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lewis Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Askew Hollow Farm Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (402 more) ...
- Salem Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lamb Memorial Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Scenic Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Otterville had a population of 173 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Otterville had a population of 116 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Newbern
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Newbern is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbern
- McClusky
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- McClusky is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClusky
- Grafton
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- East Newbern
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- East Newbern is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Newbern
- Jerseyville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Fieldon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Elsah
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Delhi
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Delhi is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
- Rosedale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Rosedale is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
- Portage Des Sioux
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Kane
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Meppen
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Meppen is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meppen
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Deer Plain
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Deer Plain is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Plain
- Melville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Melville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melville
- Godfrey
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Otterville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Otterville.
Newspapers Published in Otterville ...
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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around Otterville.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Otterville, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Otterville.
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 Otterville:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Jersey County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Greene County
- Macoupin County
- Madison County
- Pike County
- Saint Clair County
- Lincoln County
- Pike County
- Saint Charles County
- Saint Louis City
- Saint Louis 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Otterville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Otterville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |