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 Roachtown (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 Roachtown. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Roachtown is located in Saint Clair 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 Saint Clair County: Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, Washington, Saint Louis City (MO) & Saint Louis (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Roachtown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Roachtown:
- Saint Clair County (The home county of Roachtown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Roachtown, with the one closest to Roachtown listed first.
- Millstadt
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Belleville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Smithton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Gartside
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Gartside is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gartside
- Summit
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Summit is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Swansea
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Imbs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Imbs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imbs
- Freeburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Centreville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Centreville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,844 people
- Fairview Heights
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Alorton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dupo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- 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>
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Roachtown, with the one closest to Roachtown listed first.
- New Baden
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- New Memphis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Trenton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Damiansville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Damiansville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damiansville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 484 people
- Albers
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Aviston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Germantown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Breese
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Saint Rose
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Rose is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Rose
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Roachtown, with the one closest to Roachtown listed first.
- Collinsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Venice
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Madison
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Newport
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Newport is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Granite City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Pontoon Beach
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Maryville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Nameoki
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Nameoki is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nameoki
- Glen Carbon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Mitchell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Mitchell is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
- Troy
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Brooks
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Brooks is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Roachtown, with the one closest to Roachtown listed first.
- Columbia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Waterloo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hecker
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Burksville Station
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Burksville Station is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville Station
- Burksville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Burksville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville
- Foster Pond ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Foster Pond is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Pond
- Wartburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wartburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartburg
- Valmeyer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Madonnaville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Madonnaville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madonnaville
- Monroe City
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Monroe City is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe City
- Maeystown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Chalfin Bridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Chalfin Bridge is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalfin Bridge
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Roachtown, with the one closest to Roachtown listed first.
- Red Bud
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Ruma
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Ruma is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
- Baldwin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Houston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Houston is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
- Tilden
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Evansville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Prairie du Rocher
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Prairie du Rocher is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie du Rocher
- Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
- Prairie du Rocher has also been known as:
- Prairie du Rocher village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prairie du Rocher <1>
- Preston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Preston is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
- Walsh
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Walsh is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsh
- Modoc
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Modoc is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modoc
- Sparta
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Coulterville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Roachtown, with the one closest to Roachtown listed first.
- Venedy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Venedy is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venedy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
- Stone Church
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Stone Church is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Church
- Caspars
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Caspars is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caspars
- Clarmin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Clarmin is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarmin
- Okawville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Elkton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Elkton is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Addieville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Jefferson County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Roachtown, with the one closest to Roachtown listed first.
- Flamm City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Flamm City is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flamm City
- Arnold
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- 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>
- Kimmswick
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Maxville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Maxville is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxville
- Imperial
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Barnhart
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Pevely
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- 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>
- Herculaneum
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Crystal City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Horine
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Horine is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horine
- Murphy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Murphy is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy
- Otto
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Otto is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otto
- Saint Charles County (MO)
- West Alton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Saint Louis City (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Roachtown, with the one closest to Roachtown listed first.
- Carondelet
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Carondelet is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carondelet
- Saint Louis
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Tower Grove
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- 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 northwest)
- Cheltenham is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheltenham
- Baden
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Baden is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
- University City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- 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 Roachtown, with the one closest to Roachtown listed first.
- Ivory
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Ivory is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivory
- Bella Villa
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Bella Villa is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bella Villa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 721 people
- Lemay
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Lemay is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemay
- Oakville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Oakville is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Wilbur Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Wilbur Park is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbur Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
- Mehlville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Mehlville is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mehlville
- Saint George
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Saint George is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint George
- Estimated population in 2011: 1,336 people
- Mackenzie
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mackenzie is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackenzie
- Estimated population in 2018: 131 people
- Affton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Affton is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Affton
- Green Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Green Park is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,614 people
- Lakeshire
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Lakeshire is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeshire
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,385 people
- Mattese
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Mattese is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattese
- Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Roachtown, with the one closest to Roachtown listed first.
- Brickeys
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Brickeys is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickeys
- Former names for Brickeys:
- Brickeys Gristmill
- Brickeys Landing
- Clement ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Clement is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clement
- Needmore
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Needmore is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Roachtown, see our County-by-County Page for Roachtown.
Cemeteries Near Roachtown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Roachtown.
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 Roachtown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Roachtown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Roachtown, with the one closest to Roachtown listed first.
- Union Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Old Millstadt Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Stein - Nagel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- St. James Catholic Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- St. James Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Freivogel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- High Prairie Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Concordia Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Evergreen Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- St. John Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Smithton - Franklin Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Walnut Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (451 more) ...
- Valhalla Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Saxtown Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Rittenhouse Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Roachtown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Roachtown.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Roachtown, with the one closest to Roachtown listed first.
- Millstadt
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Smithton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Belleville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wilderman
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Wilderman is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilderman
- Gartside
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Gartside is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gartside
- Ogles
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Ogles is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogles
- Darmstadt
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Darmstadt is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darmstadt
- Floraville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Floraville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floraville
- Summit
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Summit is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Birkner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Birkner is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birkner
- Imbs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Imbs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imbs
- Paderborn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Paderborn is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paderborn
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Freeburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Tillman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Tillman is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillman
- Centreville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Centreville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,844 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Roachtown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Roachtown.
Newspapers Published in Roachtown ...
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 611 newspapers that have been published in the area around Roachtown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Roachtown, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Roachtown.
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 helpful 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 Roachtown:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Saint Clair County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clinton County
- Madison County
- Monroe County
- Randolph County
- Washington County
- Jefferson County
- Saint Charles County
- Saint Louis City
- Saint Louis County
- Sainte Genevieve 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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Roachtown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Roachtown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |