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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 Swanwick (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 Swanwick. 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 hospitals 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.

Swanwick is located in Perry 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 Perry County: Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Randolph & Washington.

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

  • Perry County     (The home county of Swanwick)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swanwick, with the one closest to Swanwick listed first.
    • Winkle
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Winkle is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winkle
    • Conant
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Conant is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
    • Cutler
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Pinckneyville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Denmark
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Denmark is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
    • Willisville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Pyatts
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Pyatts is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pyatts
    • Tamaroa
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Sunfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Sunfield is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunfield
    • Saint Johns
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Saint Johns is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Du Quoin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Du Quoin is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Quoin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,591 people
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swanwick, with the one closest to Swanwick listed first.
    • New Memphis
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Damiansville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Damiansville is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damiansville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 484 people
    • Bartelso
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Albers
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Germantown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • New Baden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Posey
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Posey is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Posey
    • Hoffman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Beckemeyer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Breese
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swanwick, with the one closest to Swanwick listed first.
    • Sesser
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Mulkeytown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Valier
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Coello
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • North City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • North City is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 566 people
    • Christopher
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Royalton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swanwick, with the one closest to Swanwick listed first.
    • Campbell Hill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Ava
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Ava is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ava
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ava <1>
    • Degognia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Degognia is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Degognia
    • Vergennes
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Oraville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Dowell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Elkville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Hallidayboro
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Hallidayboro is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallidayboro
    • Jacob
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • De Soto
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Murphysboro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swanwick, with the one closest to Swanwick listed first.
    • Scheller
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Emerson City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Emerson City is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson City
    • Waltonville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Roaches
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Roaches is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roaches
    • Fitzgerrell ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Fitzgerrell is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzgerrell
    • Woodlawn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Dareville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Dareville is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dareville
    • Nason
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Nason is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nason
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nason <1>
    • Jefferson City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jefferson City is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson City
  • Monroe County
    • Hecker
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Randolph County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swanwick, with the one closest to Swanwick listed first.
    • Coulterville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Tilden
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Sparta
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Percy
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Steeleville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Houston
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Houston is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
    • Blair
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Blair is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair
    • Baldwin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Shiloh Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Shiloh Hill is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh Hill
    • Bremen
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Welge
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Welge is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welge
    • Walsh
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Walsh is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsh
    • Preston
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Preston is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
  • Saint Clair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swanwick, with the one closest to Swanwick listed first.
    • Marissa
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Marissa is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marissa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,785 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marissa <1>
    • Saint Libory
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lenzburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Fayetteville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Fayetteville is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 336 people
    • New Athens
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • 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 northwest)
      • Lementon is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lementon
    • Freeburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mascoutah
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Smithton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swanwick, with the one closest to Swanwick listed first.
    • Oakdale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Elkton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Elkton is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
    • Clarmin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Clarmin is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarmin
    • Caspars
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Caspars is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caspars
    • Posen
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Posen is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Posen
    • Stone Church
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Stone Church is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Church
    • Nashville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Addieville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Venedy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Venedy is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venedy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
    • Du Bois
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Du Bois is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Bois
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
    • Okawville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • New Minden
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • New Minden is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Minden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
    • Radom
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Radom is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radom
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Radom <1>
  • Perry County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swanwick, with the one closest to Swanwick listed first.
    • McBride
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • McBride is located in Perry County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBride
    • Lithium
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Lithium is located in Perry County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithium
    • Sereno
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Sereno is located in Perry County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sereno
  • Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swanwick, with the one closest to Swanwick listed first.
    • Quarry Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Saint Mary
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Mary is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Mary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 345 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Mary <1>
    • Sainte Genevieve
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Little Rock Landing ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Little Rock Landing is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock Landing

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

Cemeteries Near Swanwick ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Swanwick.

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

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

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

  • Bethel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Spring Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Coulterville City Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Galum Baptist Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Pilot Knob Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Oak Dale Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Galum Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Maxwell Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Hopewell Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Mueller Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Caledonia Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (375 more) ...
    • Cutler Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutler Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Cutler Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Cutler.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #989970 <2>
    • Concord Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Chapman Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Swanwick had a population of 200 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Coulterville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Oakdale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Conant
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Conant is located in Perry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
  • Tilden
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Sparta
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Cutler
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Kampenville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Kampenville is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kampenville
  • Pinckneyville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Lively Grove
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Lively Grove is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lively Grove
  • Percy
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Caspars
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Caspars is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caspars
  • Denmark
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Denmark is located in Perry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Marissa
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Marissa is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marissa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,785 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marissa <1>
    • Steeleville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Stone Church
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Stone Church is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Church

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

Newspapers Published in Swanwick ...

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 130 newspapers that have been published in the area around Swanwick.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Swanwick, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Swanwick.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Swanwick:

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 Swanwick, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Swanwick) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.