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 Sunset Harbor (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 Sunset Harbor. 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 Sunset Harbor ...
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 Sunset Harbor: Sunset Hbr. (or less commonly used: Sunset Harb. or Sunset Hrbr.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sunset Harbor. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sunset Harbor.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Sunset Harbor 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 Sunset Harbor. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sunset Harbor:
- Williamson County (The home county of Sunset Harbor)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Harbor, with the one closest to Sunset Harbor listed first.
- Lake Crest
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Lake Crest is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Crest
- Creal Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Marion
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Spillertown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Spillertown is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spillertown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Whiteash
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Whiteash is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteash
- Estimated population in 2014: 240 people
- Crainville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Crainville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crainville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,419 people
- Energy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pittsburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Carterville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Herrin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Dewmaine
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Dewmaine is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewmaine
- Herrin Junction ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Herrin Junction is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrin Junction
- Johnston City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Alexander County
- Elco
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Harbor, with the one closest to Sunset Harbor listed first.
- Cambon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Cambon is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambon
- Fitt's Hill ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Fitt's Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitt's Hill
- Plumfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Plumfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
- West Frankfort
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- West Frankfort is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Frankfort
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,733 people
- Deering City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Deering City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deering City
- Orient
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Zeigler
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Royalton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Thompsonville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Parrish
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Parrish is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Smothersville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Smothersville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
- Hanaford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Hanaford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanaford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
- Buckner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Hamilton County
- Walpole
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Walpole is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walpole
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Harbor, with the one closest to Sunset Harbor listed first.
- Makanda
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Carbondale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- De Soto
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pomona
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Murphysboro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hallidayboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hallidayboro is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallidayboro
- Elkville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dowell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Oraville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Vergennes
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gorham
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Grand Tower
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Harbor, with the one closest to Sunset Harbor listed first.
- Eagle Point Bay
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Eagle Point Bay is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point Bay
- Deer Ridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
- Egyptian Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Egyptian Hills is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egyptian Hills
- Goreville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- New Burnside
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Buncombe
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Ozark
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Reynoldsburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Reynoldsburg is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsburg
- Vienna
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Simpson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bender ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Bender is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bender
- Cypress
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Wartrace
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wartrace is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartrace
- Massac County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Harbor, with the one closest to Sunset Harbor listed first.
- New Columbia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- New Columbia is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Columbia
- Big Bay
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Big Bay is located in Massac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bay
- Joppa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Pope County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Harbor, with the one closest to Sunset Harbor listed first.
- McCormick
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- McCormick is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCormick
- Glendale
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Glendale is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Eddyville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Dixon Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Dixon Springs is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon Springs
- Rock
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rock is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
- Oak
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Oak is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak
- Hartsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Hartsville is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsville
- Lusk
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Lusk is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lusk
- Herod
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Leisure City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Leisure City is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure City
- Golconda
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Harbor, with the one closest to Sunset Harbor listed first.
- Karnak
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Perks
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Grand Chain
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- New Grand Chain
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Ullin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Saline County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Harbor, with the one closest to Sunset Harbor listed first.
- Stonefort
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Carrier Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- 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>
- Ledford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Ledford is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledford
- Liberty
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Liberty is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Mitchellsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Mitchellsville is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchellsville
- Buena Vista
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Buena Vista is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Gaskins City
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Gaskins City is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaskins City
- Harrisburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Galatia
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Muddy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cornerville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cornerville is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornerville
- Long Branch
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Long Branch is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Raleigh
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Harbor, with the one closest to Sunset Harbor listed first.
- Lick Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Mount Pleasant
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Water Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Water Valley is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Cobden
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Anna
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Dongola
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jonesboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Alto Pass
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Dutch Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Dutch Mills is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Mills
- Mill Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mill Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Wolf Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Reynoldsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Reynoldsville is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sunset Harbor, see our County-by-County Page for Sunset Harbor.
Cemeteries Near Sunset Harbor ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sunset Harbor.
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 Sunset Harbor - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sunset Harbor covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sunset Harbor, with the one closest to Sunset Harbor listed first.
- Kimmel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- McBride Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Cocke Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Cocke Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Springer Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- White Oak Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Ward Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Meneese Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Koonce Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mosley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Caney Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- County Line Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (505 more) ...
- Gibson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Salem Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Donelson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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 Sunset Harbor in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sunset Harbor.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sunset Harbor, with the one closest to Sunset Harbor listed first.
- Goreville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Creal Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- New Dennison
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- New Dennison is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Dennison
- Marion
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Sandburn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Sandburn is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandburn
- Tunnel Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bainbridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Bainbridge is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainbridge
- Parker
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Parker is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parker
- Elvira
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Elvira is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elvira
- New Burnside
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Lick Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Buncombe
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Ozark
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Crab Orchard
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Crab Orchard is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab Orchard
- Bloomfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Bloomfield is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sunset Harbor. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sunset Harbor.
Newspapers Published in Sunset Harbor ...
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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sunset Harbor.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sunset Harbor, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sunset Harbor.
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 Sunset Harbor:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Williamson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alexander County
- Franklin County
- Hamilton County
- Jackson County
- Johnson County
- Massac County
- Pope County
- Pulaski County
- Saline County
- Union 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 Sunset Harbor, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Sunset Harbor) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |