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 Roots (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 Roots. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.
Roots 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 Roots. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Roots:
- Randolph County (The home county of Roots)
- The following are listed by their distance from Roots, with the one closest to Roots listed first.
- Ellis Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Modoc
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Modoc is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modoc
- Evansville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Dozaville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Dozaville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dozaville
- Kaskaskia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Kaskaskia is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaskaskia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13 people
- New Palestine
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- New Palestine is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Palestine
- Ruma
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Ruma is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
- Preston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Preston is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
- Walsh
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Walsh is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsh
- Prairie du Rocher
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- 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>
- Chester
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Menard
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Blair
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Blair is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Roots, with the one closest to Roots listed first.
- Degognia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Degognia is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Degognia
- Campbell Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Ava
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Jacob
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Roots, with the one closest to Roots listed first.
- Renault
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fults
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hecker
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Burksville Station
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Burksville Station is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville Station
- Burksville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Burksville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville
- Chalfin Bridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Chalfin Bridge is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalfin Bridge
- Maeystown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Madonnaville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Madonnaville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madonnaville
- Monroe City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Monroe City is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe City
- Wartburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wartburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartburg
- Mitchie
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Mitchie is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchie
- Foster Pond ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Foster Pond is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Pond
- Waterloo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Roots, with the one closest to Roots listed first.
- Willisville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Cutler
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Denmark
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Denmark is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Conant
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Conant is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
- Winkle
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Winkle is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winkle
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Roots, with the one closest to Roots listed first.
- Marissa
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lenzburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- New Athens
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- New Athens is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Athens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,865 people
- Lementon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Lementon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lementon
- Fayetteville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Fayetteville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 336 people
- Smithton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Saint Libory
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Freeburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Roots, with the one closest to Roots listed first.
- Clarmin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Clarmin is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarmin
- Caspars
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Caspars is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caspars
- Elkton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Elkton is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Stone Church
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Stone Church is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Church
- Oakdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jefferson County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Roots, with the one closest to Roots listed first.
- Crystal City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Flucom
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Flucom is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flucom
- Festus
(27 miles [43.5 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
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Knorpp is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knorpp
- Olympian Village
(27 miles [43.5 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
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Valles Mines
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Horine
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Horine is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horine
- Pevely
(29 miles [46.7 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
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hematite is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hematite
- Perry County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Roots, with the one closest to Roots listed first.
- Lithium
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Lithium is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithium
- McBride
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- McBride is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBride
- Sereno
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sereno is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sereno
- Perryville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Silver Lake
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Silver Lake is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Eureka
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Eureka is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Farrar
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Farrar is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrar
- Longtown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Longtown is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longtown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
- Millheim
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Millheim is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millheim
- Biehle
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Biehle is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biehle
- Brazeau
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Brazeau is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazeau
- Saint Francois County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Roots, with the one closest to Roots listed first.
- French Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Farmington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Leadington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Esther
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Esther is located in Saint Francois County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esther
- Silver Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Silver Springs is located in Saint Francois County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Springs
- Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Roots, with the one closest to Roots listed first.
- Little Rock Landing ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Little Rock Landing is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock Landing
- Sainte Genevieve
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Quarry Town
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- 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
- Marlo ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Marlo is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlo
- Saint Mary
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Zell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Zell is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zell
- Ozora
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Ozora is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ozora
- Clement ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Clement is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clement
- River aux Vases
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- River aux Vases is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River aux Vases
- Former name for River aux Vases:
- Staabtown
- Bloomsdale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Brickeys
(13 miles [20.9 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
- New Offenburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- New Offenburg is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Offenburg
- Needmore
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- 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 Roots, see our County-by-County Page for Roots.
Cemeteries Near Roots ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Roots.
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 Roots - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Roots covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Roots, with the one closest to Roots listed first.
- Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Stipe Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Valle Spring Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- McCormick Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- St. Boniface Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- St. Peters Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Kelly Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kaskaskia Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mann Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Hughes Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- St. Pius Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (345 more) ...
- Preston Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- St. John Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Nelson Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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>
While we didn't find Roots in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Roots.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Roots, with the one closest to Roots listed first.
- Ellis Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Modoc
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Modoc is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modoc
- Sainte Genevieve
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Evansville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Kaskaskia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Kaskaskia is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaskaskia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13 people
- New Palestine
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- New Palestine is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Palestine
- Preston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Preston is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
- Prairie du Rocher
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- 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>
- Ruma
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Ruma is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
- Ames
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ames is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ames
- Zell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Zell is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zell
- Saint Mary
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Menard
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Chester
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Claryville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Claryville is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claryville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Roots. See our List of 1890's Communities around Roots.
Newspapers Published in Roots ...
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 121 newspapers that have been published in the area around Roots.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Roots, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Roots.
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 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 Roots:
- 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
- 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> | 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 Roots, 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 from Point A (ie- Roots) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |