RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Illinois >> Sangamon County >> Pawnee >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Pawnee (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 Pawnee. 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 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.

Pawnee is located in Sangamon 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 Sangamon County: Christian, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Menard, Montgomery & Morgan.

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

  • Sangamon County     (The home county of Pawnee)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pawnee, with the one closest to Pawnee listed first.
    • Commanche Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Commanche Village is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commanche Village
    • Glenarm
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Divernon
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • New City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • New City is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New City
    • Chatham
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Auburn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Woodside
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Woodside is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside
    • Thayer
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Rochester
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Southern View
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Southern View is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southern View
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,557 people
    • Hawthorne Place
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Hawthorne Place is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawthorne Place
    • Jerome
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jerome is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,575 people
  • Cass County
    • Ashland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Christian County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pawnee, with the one closest to Pawnee listed first.
    • Zenobia
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Zenobia is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenobia
    • Tovey
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Tovey is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tovey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 467 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tovey <1>
    • Bulpitt
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Kincaid
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jeisyville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Jeisyville is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeisyville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
    • Edinburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Langleyville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Langleyville is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langleyville
    • Sharpsburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Sharpsburg is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpsburg
    • Clarksdale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Clarksdale is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksdale
    • Morrisonville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Palmer
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Taylorville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pawnee, with the one closest to Pawnee listed first.
    • Cornland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Lake Fork
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Elkhart
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Macon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pawnee, with the one closest to Pawnee listed first.
    • Blue Mound
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Niantic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Boody
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Macoupin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pawnee, with the one closest to Pawnee listed first.
    • Virden
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Girard
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Nilwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Standard City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Standard City is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standard City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
    • Modesto
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Palmyra
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Carlinville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Scottville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Comer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Comer is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
    • Hettick
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hornsby
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Hornsby is located in Macoupin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornsby
  • Menard County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pawnee, with the one closest to Pawnee listed first.
    • Athens
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Tallula
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pawnee, with the one closest to Pawnee listed first.
    • White Oak
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • White Oak is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
    • Farmersville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Waggoner
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Harvel
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Raymond
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Shop Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Shop Creek is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shop Creek
    • Honey Bend
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Honey Bend is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Bend
    • Wenonah
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Wenonah is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wenonah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
    • Coalton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Coalton is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 282 people
    • Nokomis
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Ohlman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Witt
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Witt is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Witt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 833 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Witt <1>
  • Morgan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pawnee, with the one closest to Pawnee listed first.
    • Waverly
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Franklin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Alexander
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Pisgah
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Pisgah is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
    • Prentice
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Prentice is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prentice
  • Shelby County
    • Moweaqua
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Pawnee ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pawnee.

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

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

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

  • Calvary Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Horse Creek Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Zion Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • St. Bernard Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Brush Creek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Cumberland Sugar Creek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Sugar Creek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Stout Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Finley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Vigal Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Easley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Brunk Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (291 more) ...
    • Beck Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Bethany Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jones Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Pawnee had a population of 300 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Pawnee had a population of 2,646 people.

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

  • Pawnee Junction
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Pawnee Junction is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee Junction
  • Divernon
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Glenarm
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • White Oak
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • White Oak is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
  • Zenobia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Zenobia is located in Christian County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenobia
  • New City
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • New City is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New City
  • Cotton Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Cotton Hill is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Hill
  • Thomasville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Thomasville is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomasville
  • Chatham
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Auburn
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Woodside
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Woodside is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside
  • Breckenridge
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Breckenridge is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breckenridge
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Berry
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Berry is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berry
    • Virden
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Farmersville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pawnee. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pawnee.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Pawnee ...

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 222 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pawnee.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Pawnee. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Pawnee and those printed in the larger area surrounding Pawnee.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4> of Pawnee.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Pawnee:

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