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 Rileyville (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 Rileyville. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Rileyville is located in Williamson 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 Williamson County: Franklin, Jackson, Johnson, Pope, Saline & Union.
Below are the counties that are near Rileyville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rileyville:
- Williamson County (The home county of Rileyville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rileyville, with the one closest to Rileyville listed first.
- Hartford
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Hartford is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
- Corinth
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Corinth is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Pittsburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Spillertown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Spillertown is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spillertown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Johnston City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Whiteash
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Whiteash is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteash
- Estimated population in 2014: 240 people
- Stiritz
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Stiritz is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiritz
- Marion
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Freeman Spur
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- 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>
- Creal Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Herrin Junction ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Herrin Junction is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrin Junction
- Energy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Herrin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rileyville, with the one closest to Rileyville listed first.
- Thompsonville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fitt's Hill ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Fitt's Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitt's Hill
- Parrish
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Parrish is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Akin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hanaford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hanaford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanaford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
- Smothersville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Smothersville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
- Deering City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Deering City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deering City
- West Frankfort
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- West Frankfort is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Frankfort
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,733 people
- Steel City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Steel City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steel City
- Benton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Orient
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Cambon
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Cambon is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambon
- Plumfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Plumfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
- Gallatin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rileyville, with the one closest to Rileyville listed first.
- Elba
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Elba is located in Gallatin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
- Equality
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Omaha
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Lawler
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Lawler is located in Gallatin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawler
- Ridgway
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Junction
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Inman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Inman is located in Gallatin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman
- Bowlesville ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bowlesville is located in Gallatin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlesville
- Shawneetown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- New Haven
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rileyville, with the one closest to Rileyville listed first.
- Walpole
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Walpole is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walpole
- Broughton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Flint
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Flint is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
- Macedonia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Dale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Diamond City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Diamond City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond City
- McLeansboro
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Lovilla
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Lovilla is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovilla
- Piopolis
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Piopolis is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piopolis
- Jefferson City ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Jefferson City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson City
- Dahlgren
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Belle Prairie City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Belle Prairie City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Prairie City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
- Bungay
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bungay is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bungay
- Hardin County
- Karbers Ridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rileyville, with the one closest to Rileyville listed first.
- Carbondale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- De Soto
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Elkville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Hallidayboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Hallidayboro is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallidayboro
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rileyville, with the one closest to Rileyville listed first.
- Ina
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- 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>
- Belle Rive
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Bonnie
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fitzgerrell ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fitzgerrell is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzgerrell
- Nason
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Opdyke
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Emerson City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Emerson City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson City
- Dareville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dareville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dareville
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rileyville, with the one closest to Rileyville listed first.
- New Burnside
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Ozark
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Egyptian Hills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Egyptian Hills is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egyptian Hills
- Eagle Point Bay
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Eagle Point Bay is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point Bay
- Reynoldsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Reynoldsburg is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsburg
- Deer Ridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
- Simpson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Goreville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Buncombe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pope County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rileyville, with the one closest to Rileyville listed first.
- McCormick
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- McCormick is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCormick
- Oak
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Oak is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak
- Herod
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Eddyville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Hartsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Hartsville is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsville
- Glendale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Glendale is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Leisure City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Leisure City is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure City
- Lusk
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lusk is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lusk
- Rock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Rock is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
- Saline County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rileyville, with the one closest to Rileyville listed first.
- Galatia
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Cornerville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cornerville is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornerville
- Long Branch
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Long Branch is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Raleigh
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Buena Vista
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Buena Vista is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Harrisburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Muddy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Wasson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Wasson is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasson
- Carrier Mills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- 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>
- Gaskins City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Gaskins City is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaskins City
- Ledford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ledford is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledford
- Eldorado
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- White County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rileyville, with the one closest to Rileyville listed first.
- Norris City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Roland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Roland is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roland
- Stokes
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Stokes is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokes
- Enfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Herald
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Springerton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rileyville, see our County-by-County Page for Rileyville.
Cemeteries Near Rileyville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rileyville.
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 Rileyville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rileyville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rileyville, with the one closest to Rileyville listed first.
- Old Ruff Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Brooks Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Cardwell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Hall Town Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Abney Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- McFarland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Locust Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Kious Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Campground Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Good Hope Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Winn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Winkleman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (505 more) ...
- Abney Family #2 Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Stricklin Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Simpson Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Rileyville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rileyville.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rileyville, with the one closest to Rileyville listed first.
- Galatia
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- West End
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- West End is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West End
- Locust Grove ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Locust Grove is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
- Long Branch
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Long Branch is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Corinth
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Corinth is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Thompsonville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Attila
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Attila is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attila
- Raleigh
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Rural Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Rural Hill is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Hill
- Fitt's Hill ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Fitt's Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitt's Hill
- Walpole
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Walpole is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walpole
- Parrish
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Parrish is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Harrisburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Akin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Braden
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Braden is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braden
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rileyville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rileyville.
Newspapers Published in Rileyville ...
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 96 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rileyville.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rileyville, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rileyville.
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 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 Rileyville:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Williamson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Gallatin County
- Hamilton County
- Hardin County
- Jackson County
- Jefferson County
- Johnson County
- Pope County
- Saline County
- White 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> | 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 Rileyville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Rileyville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |