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 Saint Thomas (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 Saint Thomas. 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 Saint Thomas ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Saint Thomas: St. Thomas
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Saint Thomas. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Saint Thomas.
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.
Saint Thomas is located in Madison 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 Madison County: Bond, Clinton, Jersey, Macoupin, Montgomery, Saint Clair, Saint Charles (MO), Saint Louis City (MO) & Saint Louis (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Saint Thomas. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Saint Thomas:
- Madison County (The home county of Saint Thomas)
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Thomas, with the one closest to Saint Thomas listed first.
- Mitchell
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Mitchell is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
- Brooks
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Brooks is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
- Nameoki
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Nameoki is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nameoki
- Poag
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Poag is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poag
- South Roxana
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- South Roxana is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Roxana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,986 people
- Granite City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Pontoon Beach
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hartford
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Madison
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Roxana
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Newport
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Newport is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Venice
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Glen Carbon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bond County
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Thomas, with the one closest to Saint Thomas listed first.
- Pierron
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Old Ripley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Old Ripley is located in Bond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Ripley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Thomas, with the one closest to Saint Thomas listed first.
- Deer Plain
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Deer Plain is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Plain
- Golden Eagle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Brussels
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Thomas, with the one closest to Saint Thomas listed first.
- Trenton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- New Baden
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Aviston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Saint Rose
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Saint Rose is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Rose
- Albers
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- New Memphis
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jersey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Thomas, with the one closest to Saint Thomas listed first.
- Elsah
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Delhi
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Delhi is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
- Chautauqua
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Chautauqua is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
- Dow
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Grafton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- McClusky
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- McClusky is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClusky
- Otterville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Otterville is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otterville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Fidelity
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Jerseyville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Macoupin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Thomas, with the one closest to Saint Thomas listed first.
- Brighton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Miles Station
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Miles Station is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miles Station
- Bunker Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Piasa
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Shipman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Staunton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Royal Lakes
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Royal Lakes is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 185 people
- Royal Lakes has also been known as:
- Royal Lakes village
- Dorchester
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Dorchester is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Wilsonville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sawyerville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Medora
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Benld
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Clare
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Clare is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Clare
- Population from the 2020 Census: 262 people
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Thomas, with the one closest to Saint Thomas listed first.
- Columbia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Waterloo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Thomas, with the one closest to Saint Thomas listed first.
- Brooklyn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Brooklyn is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 687 people
- Fairmont City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Fairmont City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,439 people
- National City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Washington Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Washington Park is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,831 people
- East Saint Louis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Caseyville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bunkum
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bunkum is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunkum
- French Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- French Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Village
- Alorton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Sauget
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Cahokia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Centreville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Centreville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,844 people
- Fairview Heights
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Jefferson County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Thomas, with the one closest to Saint Thomas listed first.
- Arnold
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- 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>
- Maxville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Maxville is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxville
- Flamm City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Flamm City is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flamm City
- Murphy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Murphy is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy
- Parkdale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Parkdale is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 162 people
- High Ridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Imperial
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kimmswick
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Peaceful Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Peaceful Village is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaceful Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Saint Charles County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Thomas, with the one closest to Saint Thomas listed first.
- West Alton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Portage Des Sioux
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gardnerville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Gardnerville is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardnerville
- Saint Charles
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Harvester
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Saint Peters
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Weldon Spring
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- All Saints Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- All Saints Village is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for All Saints Village
- Cottleville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Weldon Spring Heights
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Weldon Spring Heights is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weldon Spring Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
- Saint Louis City (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Thomas, with the one closest to Saint Thomas listed first.
- Baden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Baden is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
- Saint Louis
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cheltenham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cheltenham is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheltenham
- Tower Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Tower Grove is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Grove
- University City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- 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
- Carondelet
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Carondelet is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carondelet
- Saint Louis County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Saint Thomas, with the one closest to Saint Thomas listed first.
- Glasgow Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Glasgow Village is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow Village
- Bellefontaine Neighbors
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Bellefontaine Neighbors is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefontaine Neighbors
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,297 people
- Riverview
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Riverview is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,821 people
- Spanish Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Spanish Lake is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spanish Lake
- Moline Acres
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Moline Acres is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moline Acres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,339 people
- Castle Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Castle Point is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Point
- Black Jack
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Black Jack is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Jack
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,921 people
- Country Club Hills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Country Club Hills is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,245 people
- Dellwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Dellwood is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,994 people
- Flordell Hills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Flordell Hills is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flordell Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 800 people
- Jennings
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Jennings is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,644 people
- Northwoods
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Northwoods is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwoods
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,061 people
- Ferguson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Ferguson is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,457 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Saint Thomas, see our County-by-County Page for Saint Thomas.
Cemeteries Near Saint Thomas ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Saint Thomas.
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 Saint Thomas - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Saint Thomas covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Saint Thomas, with the one closest to Saint Thomas listed first.
- Odd Fellows Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- St. Elizabeth Catholic Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Kirkpatrick Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- New Methodist Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- St. Johns UCC Old Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Johns Cemetery
- The St. Johns Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. John United Church of Christ Cemetery
- St. John United Church of Christ Old Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #107901 <2>
- St. John UCC Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Emmert Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- New Bethlehem Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bethlehem Cemetery
- The New Bethlehem Cemetery has also been known as:
- Bethlehem Memorial Park Cemetery
- New Bethlehem Memorial Park Cemetery
- New Bethlehem Memorial
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #164041 <2>
- Virgin Mary Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Pioneer Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- St. Pauls UCC Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (477 more) ...
- Wanda Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Frieden Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
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 Saint Thomas in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Saint Thomas.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Saint Thomas, with the one closest to Saint Thomas listed first.
- Mitchell
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Mitchell is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
- Brooks
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Brooks is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
- Nameoki
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Nameoki is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nameoki
- Stallings
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Stallings is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stallings
- Poag
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Poag is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poag
- Madison
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Spanish Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Spanish Lake is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spanish Lake
- Baden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Baden is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
- Newport
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Newport is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Venice
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wanda
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wanda is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wanda
- Jennings
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Jennings is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,644 people
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Woodstock
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Woodstock is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- East Saint Louis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Alton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Saint Thomas. See our List of 1890's Communities around Saint Thomas.
Newspapers Published in Saint Thomas ...
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 597 newspapers that have been published in the area around Saint Thomas.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Saint Thomas, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Saint Thomas.
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 Saint Thomas:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Madison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bond County
- Calhoun County
- Clinton County
- Jersey County
- Macoupin County
- Monroe County
- Saint Clair County
- Jefferson County
- Saint Charles County
- Saint Louis City
- Saint Louis 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 Saint Thomas, 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- Saint Thomas) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |