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 Prairie du Rocher (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 Prairie du Rocher. 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 Prairie du Rocher ...
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.
Prairie du Rocher has also been known as: Prairie du Rocher village.
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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.
Prairie du Rocher is located in Randolph 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 Randolph County: Jackson, Monroe, Perry, Saint Clair, Washington, Perry (MO) & Sainte Genevieve (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Prairie du Rocher. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Prairie du Rocher:
- Randolph County (The home county of Prairie du Rocher)
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie du Rocher, with the one closest to Prairie du Rocher listed first.
- Modoc
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Modoc is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modoc
- Ruma
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ruma is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
- Evansville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Red Bud
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ellis Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Preston
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Preston is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
- Walsh
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Walsh is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsh
- Dozaville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Dozaville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dozaville
- Kaskaskia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Kaskaskia is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaskaskia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13 people
- Baldwin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- New Palestine
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- New Palestine is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Palestine
- Chester
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Jackson County
- Degognia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Degognia is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Degognia
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie du Rocher, with the one closest to Prairie du Rocher listed first.
- Renault
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Fults
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Burksville Station
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Burksville Station is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville Station
- Chalfin Bridge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Chalfin Bridge is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalfin Bridge
- Maeystown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Burksville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Burksville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville
- Wartburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Wartburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartburg
- Madonnaville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Madonnaville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madonnaville
- Mitchie
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mitchie is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchie
- Monroe City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Monroe City is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe City
- Hecker
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Foster Pond ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Foster Pond is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Pond
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie du Rocher, with the one closest to Prairie du Rocher listed first.
- Willisville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Cutler
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie du Rocher, with the one closest to Prairie du Rocher listed first.
- Lenzburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- New Athens
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- New Athens is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Athens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,865 people
- Marissa
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lementon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lementon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lementon
- Smithton
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Freeburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Millstadt
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Fayetteville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fayetteville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 336 people
- Saint Libory
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Belleville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Dupo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Dupo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,845 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dupo <1>
- Imbs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Imbs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imbs
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie du Rocher, with the one closest to Prairie du Rocher listed first.
- Clarmin
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Clarmin is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarmin
- Caspars
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Caspars is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caspars
- Jefferson County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie du Rocher, with the one closest to Prairie du Rocher listed first.
- Crystal City
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Flucom
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Flucom is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flucom
- Festus
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Festus is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Festus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,114 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Festus <1>
- Knorpp
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Knorpp is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knorpp
- Olympian Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Olympian Village is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olympian Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 752 people
- Herculaneum
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Horine
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Horine is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horine
- Pevely
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pevely is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pevely
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,001 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pevely <1>
- Hematite
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Hematite is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hematite
- Valles Mines
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Mapaville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Mapaville is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapaville
- Barnhart
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Perry County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie du Rocher, with the one closest to Prairie du Rocher listed first.
- Lithium
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lithium is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithium
- McBride
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- McBride is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBride
- Sereno
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Sereno is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sereno
- Perryville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Silver Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Silver Lake is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Saint Francois County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie du Rocher, with the one closest to Prairie du Rocher listed first.
- French Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Silver Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Silver Springs is located in Saint Francois County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Springs
- Cantwell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cantwell is located in Saint Francois County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cantwell
- Bonne Terre
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Desloge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Desloge is located in Saint Francois County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Desloge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,900 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Desloge <1>
- Esther
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Esther is located in Saint Francois County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esther
- Farmington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Flat River
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Flat River is located in Saint Francois County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat River
- Leadington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Park Hills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rivermines
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rivermines is located in Saint Francois County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivermines
- Blackwell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Blackwell is located in Saint Francois County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwell
- Saint Louis County (MO)
- Oakville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Oakville is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie du Rocher, with the one closest to Prairie du Rocher listed first.
- Clement ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Clement is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clement
- Little Rock Landing ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Little Rock Landing is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock Landing
- Brickeys
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Brickeys is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickeys
- Former names for Brickeys:
- Brickeys Gristmill
- Brickeys Landing
- Sainte Genevieve
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Needmore
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Needmore is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
- Bloomsdale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Marlo ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Marlo is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlo
- Zell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Zell is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zell
- Quarry Town
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Quarry Town is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quarry Town
- Quarry Town has also been known as:
- Quarrytown
- Kinsey
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Kinsey is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinsey
- Rocky Ridge Ranch
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rocky Ridge Ranch is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge Ranch
- Rocky Ridge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rocky Ridge is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge
- Washington County (MO)
- Tiff
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Tiff is located in Washington County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiff
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Prairie du Rocher, see our County-by-County Page for Prairie du Rocher.
Cemeteries Near Prairie du Rocher ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Prairie du Rocher.
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 Prairie du Rocher - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Prairie du Rocher covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Prairie du Rocher, with the one closest to Prairie du Rocher listed first.
- St. Marys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rebenack Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Studt Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Memorial Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- St. John Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Nelson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Valle Spring Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- St. Joseph Catholic Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- St. Peters Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Continue List (355 more) ...
- St. Boniface Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Grant Pass Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Zion Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
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 Prairie du Rocher had a population of 408 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Prairie du Rocher had a population of 548 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Prairie du Rocher, with the one closest to Prairie du Rocher listed first.
- Modoc
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Modoc is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modoc
- Renault
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Ames
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Ames is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ames
- Ruma
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ruma is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
- Sainte Genevieve
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Bloomsdale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Zell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Zell is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zell
- Evansville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Red Bud
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Kinsey
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Kinsey is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinsey
- Ellis Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Danby
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Danby is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danby
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Maeystown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Chalfin Bridge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Chalfin Bridge is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalfin Bridge
- Burksville Station
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Burksville Station is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville Station
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Prairie du Rocher. See our List of 1890's Communities around Prairie du Rocher.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Prairie du Rocher ...
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 114 newspapers that have been published in the area around Prairie du Rocher.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Prairie du Rocher. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Prairie du Rocher and those printed in the larger area surrounding Prairie du Rocher.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4> of Prairie du Rocher.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Prairie du Rocher:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Randolph County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Jackson County
- Monroe County
- Perry County
- Saint Clair County
- Washington County
- Jefferson County
- Perry County
- Saint Francois County
- Saint Louis County
- Sainte Genevieve County
- Washington 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 Prairie du Rocher, 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- Prairie du Rocher) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |