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 Pershing (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 Pershing. 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 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.
Pershing 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 Pershing. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pershing:
- Franklin County (The home county of Pershing)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pershing, with the one closest to Pershing listed first.
- Orient
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- West Frankfort
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- West Frankfort is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Frankfort
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,733 people
- Cambon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cambon is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambon
- Plumfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Plumfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
- Deering City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Deering City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deering City
- Zeigler
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Buckner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Christopher
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fitt's Hill ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Fitt's Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitt's Hill
- West City
(8 miles [12.9 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
- Hanaford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hanaford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanaford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
- Smothersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Smothersville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
- Royalton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pershing, with the one closest to Pershing listed first.
- Macedonia
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Walpole
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Walpole is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walpole
- Flint
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Flint is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
- Lovilla
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lovilla is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovilla
- Dale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Dahlgren
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Diamond City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Diamond City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond City
- Broughton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- McLeansboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Piopolis
(30 miles [48.3 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 Pershing, with the one closest to Pershing listed first.
- De Soto
(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
- Dowell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Carbondale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Vergennes
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Murphysboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Makanda
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Oraville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Pomona
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ava
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Gorham
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pershing, with the one closest to Pershing listed first.
- Emerson City
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Emerson City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson City
- Fitzgerrell ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Fitzgerrell is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzgerrell
- Ina
(19 miles [30.6 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
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Dareville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Dareville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dareville
- Bonnie
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Scheller
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Waltonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Marcoe
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Marcoe is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcoe
- Opdyke
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Belle Rive
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Vernon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pershing, with the one closest to Pershing listed first.
- Eagle Point Bay
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Eagle Point Bay is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point Bay
- Egyptian Hills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Egyptian Hills is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egyptian Hills
- Deer Ridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
- Goreville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- New Burnside
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Ozark
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Reynoldsburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Reynoldsburg is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsburg
- Buncombe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Simpson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pershing, with the one closest to Pershing listed first.
- Du Quoin
(17 miles [27.4 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
(18 miles [29 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
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Sunfield is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunfield
- Tamaroa
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pyatts
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Pyatts is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pyatts
- Pinckneyville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Conant
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Conant is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
- Denmark
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Denmark is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Pope County
- McCormick
(27 miles [43.5 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 Pershing, with the one closest to Pershing listed first.
- Cornerville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Cornerville is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornerville
- Galatia
(19 miles [30.6 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
(22 miles [35.4 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>
- Buena Vista
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Buena Vista is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Stonefort
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Raleigh
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Ledford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ledford is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledford
- Liberty
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Harrisburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Muddy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Wasson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Wasson is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasson
- Gaskins City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Gaskins City is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaskins City
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pershing, with the one closest to Pershing listed first.
- Water Valley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Water Valley is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Lick Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Alto Pass
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cobden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Pleasant
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pershing, with the one closest to Pershing listed first.
- Du Bois
(27 miles [43.5 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
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pershing, with the one closest to Pershing listed first.
- Freeman Spur
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- 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
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Stiritz is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiritz
- Johnston City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Herrin Junction ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Herrin Junction is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrin Junction
- Whiteash
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Whiteash is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteash
- Estimated population in 2014: 240 people
- Herrin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Energy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Spillertown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Spillertown is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spillertown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Colp
(8 miles [12.9 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>
- Pittsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Blairsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Blairsville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsville
- Dewmaine
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dewmaine is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewmaine
- Bush
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bush is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bush
- Population from the 2020 Census: 263 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pershing, see our County-by-County Page for Pershing.
Cemeteries Near Pershing ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pershing.
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 Pershing - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pershing covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pershing, with the one closest to Pershing listed first.
- Follis Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Hanes Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Denning Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Freeman Spur Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hart Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Bonner Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Boner Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boner Cemetery
- The Boner Cemetery has also been known as:
- Boner Chapel Cemetery
- Clayton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Lithuanian Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- County Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Rose Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (479 more) ...
- Duncan Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Trinity Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Oddfellow Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
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 Pershing in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pershing.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pershing, with the one closest to Pershing listed first.
- Plumfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Plumfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
- Frankfort
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Frankfort is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankfort
- Buckner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Christopher
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fitt's Hill ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Fitt's Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitt's Hill
- Smothersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Smothersville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
- Blairsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Blairsville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsville
- Parrish
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Parrish is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Benton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Carterville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Crainville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Crainville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crainville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,419 people
- Bainbridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bainbridge is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainbridge
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Marion
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Mulkeytown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fredonia ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fredonia is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pershing. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pershing.
Newspapers Published in Pershing ...
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 66 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pershing.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pershing, 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 Pershing.
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 Pershing:
- 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 Pershing, 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- Pershing) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |