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 Pleasant Ridge (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 Pleasant Ridge. 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.
Name Variations for Pleasant Ridge ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Pleasant Ridge: Pleasant Rdg. (or less commonly used: Pleasant Rdge. or Pleasant Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Pleasant Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Pleasant Ridge.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 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.
Pleasant Ridge is located in Madison 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 Madison County: Bond, Clinton, Jersey, Macoupin, Montgomery, Saint Clair, Saint Charles (MO), Saint Louis City (MO) & Saint Louis (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Pleasant Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pleasant Ridge:
- Madison County (The home county of Pleasant Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Maryville
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Glen Carbon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Collinsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Pontoon Beach
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Troy
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Edwardsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mitchell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mitchell is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
- Poag
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Poag is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poag
- Brooks
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Brooks is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
- South Roxana
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- South Roxana is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Roxana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,986 people
- Nameoki
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Nameoki is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nameoki
- Fruit
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fruit is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruit
- Granite City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bond County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Pierron
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Pocahontas
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Old Ripley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Old Ripley is located in Bond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Ripley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Sorento
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Reno
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Reno is located in Bond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Trenton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- New Baden
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Aviston
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Saint Rose
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Saint Rose is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Rose
- Albers
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- New Memphis
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Damiansville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Damiansville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damiansville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 484 people
- Breese
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Germantown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Beckemeyer
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Bartelso
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jersey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Elsah
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Delhi
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Delhi is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
- Chautauqua
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Chautauqua is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
- Dow
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- McClusky
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- McClusky is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClusky
- Grafton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Macoupin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Bunker Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Staunton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Brighton
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Miles Station
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Miles Station is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miles Station
- Wilsonville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Dorchester
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Dorchester is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Royal Lakes
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- 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
- Sawyerville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- White City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- White City is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 230 people
- Benld
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Mount Clare
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Mount Clare is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Clare
- Population from the 2020 Census: 262 people
- Shipman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Mount Olive
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Columbia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hecker
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Waterloo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Montgomery County
- Walshville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Caseyville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bunkum
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bunkum is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunkum
- Fairview Heights
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Fairmont City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fairmont City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,439 people
- Washington Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Washington Park is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,831 people
- O'Fallon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Petersburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Petersburg is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- French Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- French Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Village
- East Saint Louis
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Summit
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Summit is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Swansea
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Brooklyn
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Brooklyn is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 687 people
- National City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Venedy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Venedy is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venedy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
- Okawville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jefferson County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Arnold
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Arnold is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,145 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arnold <1>
- Flamm City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Flamm City is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flamm City
- Maxville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Maxville is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxville
- Saint Charles County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- West Alton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Portage Des Sioux
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Gardnerville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Gardnerville is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardnerville
- Saint Charles
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Saint Louis City (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Saint Louis
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Baden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Baden is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
- Tower Grove
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Tower Grove is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Grove
- Cheltenham
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Cheltenham is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheltenham
- Carondelet
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Carondelet is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carondelet
- University City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- 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
- Saint Louis County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Glasgow Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Glasgow Village is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow Village
- Riverview
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Riverview is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,821 people
- Bellefontaine Neighbors
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Bellefontaine Neighbors is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefontaine Neighbors
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,297 people
- Spanish Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Spanish Lake is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spanish Lake
- Castle Point
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Castle Point is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Point
- Moline Acres
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Moline Acres is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moline Acres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,339 people
- Country Club Hills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Country Club Hills is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,245 people
- Flordell Hills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Flordell Hills is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flordell Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 800 people
- Jennings
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Jennings is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,644 people
- Beverly Hills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Beverly Hills is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 551 people
- Black Jack
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- 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
- Dellwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Dellwood is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,994 people
- Hillsdale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Hillsdale is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,536 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pleasant Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Pleasant Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Pleasant Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pleasant Ridge.
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 Pleasant Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pleasant Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Krome Family Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Old St. Johns Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- St. John Lutheran Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Lakeview Memorial Gardens
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Fairland Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Buck Road Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Peters Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Glen Carbon Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Holly Cross Lutheran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Cook Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Virgin Mary Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Oaklawn Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (494 more) ...
- Bethel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Glenwood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- St. Peter & Paul Catholic Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 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.<3>
While we didn't find Pleasant Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pleasant Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Collinsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Stallings
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Stallings is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stallings
- Troy
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Caseyville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Poag
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Poag is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poag
- Edwardsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mitchell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mitchell is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
- Brooks
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Brooks is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
- Furman
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Furman is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furman
- Wanda
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Wanda is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wanda
- Nameoki
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Nameoki is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nameoki
- Madison
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- French Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- French Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Village
- Fruit
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fruit is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruit
- Venice
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pleasant Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pleasant Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Pleasant Ridge ...
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 88 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pleasant Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pleasant Ridge, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pleasant Ridge.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Pleasant Ridge:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Madison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bond County
- Clinton County
- Jersey County
- Macoupin County
- Monroe County
- Montgomery County
- Saint Clair County
- Washington County
- Jefferson 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> | 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 Pleasant Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Pleasant Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |