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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 Roby (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 Roby. 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 doctors and 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.

Roby is located in Christian 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 Christian County: Macon, Montgomery, Sangamon & Shelby.

Below are the counties that are near Roby. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Roby:

  • Christian County     (The home county of Roby)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roby, with the one closest to Roby listed first.
    • Bolivia
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Bolivia is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolivia
    • Grove City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Grove City is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove City
    • Edinburg
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Mount Auburn
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Sharpsburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Sharpsburg is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpsburg
    • Bulpitt
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Kincaid
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Tovey
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Tovey is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tovey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 467 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tovey <1>
    • Jeisyville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jeisyville is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeisyville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
    • Langleyville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Langleyville is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langleyville
    • Stonington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Taylorville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • De Witt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roby, with the one closest to Roby listed first.
    • Kenney
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Rowell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Rowell is located in De Witt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowell
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roby, with the one closest to Roby listed first.
    • Cornland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Lake Fork
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Elkhart
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Mount Pulaski
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Latham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Broadwell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Broadwell is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadwell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
    • Chestervale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Chestervale is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestervale
    • Chestnut
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Middletown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lincoln
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Beason
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Macon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roby, with the one closest to Roby listed first.
    • Niantic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Blue Mound
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Boody
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Harristown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Macon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Elwin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Warrensburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Bearsdale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Bearsdale is located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearsdale
    • Decatur
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Turpin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Turpin is located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turpin
    • Forsyth
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Zion
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Macoupin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roby, with the one closest to Roby listed first.
    • Virden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Girard
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Menard County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roby, with the one closest to Roby listed first.
    • Athens
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Croft
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Croft is located in Menard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croft
    • Greenview
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Petersburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roby, with the one closest to Roby listed first.
    • White Oak
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • White Oak is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
    • Farmersville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Harvel
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Ohlman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Waggoner
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Wenonah
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Wenonah is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wenonah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
    • Nokomis
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Raymond
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Sangamon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roby, with the one closest to Roby listed first.
    • Mechanicsburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Buffalo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Rochester
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Dawson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • New City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • New City is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New City
    • Clear Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Clear Lake is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
    • Riverton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Illiopolis
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Spaulding
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Spaulding is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spaulding
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 836 people
    • Buffalo Hart
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Buffalo Hart is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Hart
    • Grandview
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Grandview is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,369 people
    • Hawthorne Place
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Hawthorne Place is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawthorne Place
  • Shelby County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roby, with the one closest to Roby listed first.
    • Moweaqua
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Yantisville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Yantisville is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yantisville

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Roby, see our County-by-County Page for Roby.

Cemeteries Near Roby ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Roby.

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 Roby - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Roby covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Roby, with the one closest to Roby listed first.

  • Furrow Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Hinckle Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Milligan Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Breckenridge Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Edinburg Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Mechanicsburg Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Buckhart Dutch Reform Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Pickerell Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • South Fork Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Taylor Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Grove City Methodist Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (258 more) ...
    • Bethel Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Motterville Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Mt. Auburn Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 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.<2>

While we didn't find Roby in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Roby.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Roby, with the one closest to Roby listed first.

  • Bolivia
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Bolivia is located in Christian County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolivia
  • Breckenridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Breckenridge is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breckenridge
  • Berry
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Berry is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berry
  • Mechanicsburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Edinburg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Grove City
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Grove City is located in Christian County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove City
  • Mount Auburn
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Buffalo
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Rochester
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • New City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • New City is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New City
  • Dawson
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Lanesville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Lanesville is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanesville
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Sharpsburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Sharpsburg is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpsburg
    • Riverton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Illiopolis
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Roby. See our List of 1890's Communities around Roby.

Newspapers Published in Roby ...

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 84 newspapers that have been published in the area around Roby.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Roby, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Roby.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Roby:

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 Roby, 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' (or 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- Roby) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.