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 Swansea (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 Swansea. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Swansea 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 Swansea. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Swansea:
- Saint Clair County (The home county of Swansea)
- The following are listed by their distance from Swansea, with the one closest to Swansea listed first.
- Summit
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Summit is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Fairview Heights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Belleville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Gartside
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Gartside is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gartside
- Shiloh
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- O'Fallon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Petersburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Petersburg is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- French Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- French Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Village
- Bunkum
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Bunkum is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunkum
- Caseyville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Alorton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Centreville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Centreville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,844 people
- Bond County
- The following are listed by their distance from Swansea, with the one closest to Swansea listed first.
- Pierron
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pocahontas
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Swansea, with the one closest to Swansea listed first.
- New Baden
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Trenton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- New Memphis
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Albers
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Damiansville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Damiansville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damiansville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 484 people
- Aviston
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Germantown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Breese
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Saint Rose
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Saint Rose is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Rose
- Bartelso
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Beckemeyer
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Swansea, with the one closest to Swansea listed first.
- Collinsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Maryville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Pontoon Beach
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Madison
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Venice
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Troy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Granite City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Glen Carbon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Nameoki
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Nameoki is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nameoki
- Newport
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Newport is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Mitchell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Mitchell is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
- Brooks
(16 miles [25.7 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 Swansea, with the one closest to Swansea listed first.
- Columbia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hecker
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Waterloo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Burksville Station
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Burksville Station is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville Station
- Foster Pond ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Foster Pond is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Pond
- Burksville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Burksville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville
- Wartburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wartburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartburg
- Valmeyer
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Madonnaville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Madonnaville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madonnaville
- Monroe City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Monroe City is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe City
- Maeystown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Chalfin Bridge
(27 miles [43.5 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 Swansea, with the one closest to Swansea listed first.
- Red Bud
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Baldwin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Ruma
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Ruma is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
- Tilden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Houston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Houston is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Swansea, with the one closest to Swansea listed first.
- Venedy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- 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 southeast)
- Stone Church is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Church
- Okawville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Caspars
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Caspars is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caspars
- Clarmin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Clarmin is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarmin
- Addieville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Elkton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Elkton is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Jefferson County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Swansea, with the one closest to Swansea listed first.
- Flamm City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Flamm City is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flamm City
- Arnold
(22 miles [35.4 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>
- Maxville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Maxville is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxville
- Imperial
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Kimmswick
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Barnhart
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Murphy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Murphy is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy
- Pevely
(28 miles [45.1 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>
- Parkdale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Parkdale is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 162 people
- Herculaneum
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Horine
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Horine is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horine
- High Ridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Saint Charles County (MO)
- West Alton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Louis City (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Swansea, with the one closest to Swansea listed first.
- Saint Louis
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Carondelet
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Carondelet is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carondelet
- Tower Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Tower Grove is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Grove
- Cheltenham
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Cheltenham is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheltenham
- Baden
(17 miles [27.4 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 Swansea, with the one closest to Swansea listed first.
- Ivory
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Ivory is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivory
- Bella Villa
(16 miles [25.7 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
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Lemay is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemay
- Mackenzie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Mackenzie is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackenzie
- Estimated population in 2018: 131 people
- Saint George
(17 miles [27.4 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
- Wilbur Park
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Wilbur Park is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbur Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
- Flordell Hills
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Flordell Hills is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flordell Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 800 people
- Glasgow Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Glasgow Village is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow Village
- Hillsdale
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Hillsdale is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,536 people
- Jennings
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Jennings is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,644 people
- Affton
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Affton is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Affton
- Maplewood
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Maplewood is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,074 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Swansea, see our County-by-County Page for Swansea.
Cemeteries Near Swansea ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Swansea.
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 Swansea - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Swansea covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Swansea, with the one closest to Swansea listed first.
- Old St. Clair County Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Badgley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Whiteside Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Messenger Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Lakeview Memorial Gardens
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Valhalla Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- St. Johns Orphanage Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Willoughby Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Walnut Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- St. Adalbert Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (470 more) ...
- Green Mount Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- B'nai Israel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rider Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
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 Swansea in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Swansea.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Swansea, with the one closest to Swansea listed first.
- Summit
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Summit is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Belleville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Birkner
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Birkner is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birkner
- Gartside
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Gartside is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gartside
- Shiloh
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Furman
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Furman is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furman
- Ogles
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Ogles is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogles
- French Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- French Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Village
- Wilderman
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Wilderman is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilderman
- Caseyville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Rentchler
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rentchler is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rentchler
- Centreville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Centreville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,844 people
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Imbs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Imbs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imbs
- Millstadt
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Collinsville
(8 miles [12.9 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 Swansea. See our List of 1890's Communities around Swansea.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Swansea ...
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 609 newspapers that have been published in the area around Swansea.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Swansea. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Swansea and those printed in the larger area surrounding Swansea.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4> of Swansea.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Swansea:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Saint Clair County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bond County
- Clinton County
- Madison County
- Monroe County
- Randolph County
- Washington 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 Swansea, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 from Point A (ie- Swansea) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |