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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 Sweet Water (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 Sweet Water. 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 and 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.

Sweet Water is located in Menard 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 Menard County: Cass, Logan, Mason & Sangamon.

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

  • Menard County     (The home county of Sweet Water)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sweet Water, with the one closest to Sweet Water listed first.
    • Greenview
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Croft
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Croft is located in Menard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croft
    • Athens
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Petersburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Tallula
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Oakford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sweet Water, with the one closest to Sweet Water listed first.
    • Newmansville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Newmansville is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newmansville
    • Ashland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Sylvan ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Sylvan is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan
    • Gurney ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Gurney is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gurney
    • Chandlerville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Philadelphia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Philadelphia is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philadelphia
    • Burlingame
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Burlingame is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
    • Old Princeton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Old Princeton is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Princeton
    • Virginia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Jules
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Jules is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jules
  • Christian County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sweet Water, with the one closest to Sweet Water listed first.
    • Bolivia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Bolivia is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolivia
    • Mount Auburn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • De Witt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sweet Water, with the one closest to Sweet Water listed first.
    • Midland City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Midland City is located in De Witt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland City
    • Tabor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Tabor is located in De Witt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sweet Water, with the one closest to Sweet Water listed first.
    • Liverpool
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Marbletown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Marbletown is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marbletown
    • Sepo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Sepo is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sepo
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sweet Water, with the one closest to Sweet Water listed first.
    • Middletown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • New Holland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Elkhart
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Broadwell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Broadwell is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadwell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
    • Cornland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Lincoln
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Bell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Bell is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
    • Chestervale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Chestervale is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestervale
    • Lake Fork
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Hartsburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Emden
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Pulaski
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Evans
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Evans is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sweet Water, with the one closest to Sweet Water listed first.
    • Mason City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Teheran
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Teheran is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teheran
    • Easton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Natrona
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Natrona is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natrona
    • Kilbourne
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • San Jose
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Poplar City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Long Branch
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Long Branch is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
    • Topeka
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • White City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • White City is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Forest City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Forest City is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
    • Union
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Union is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Bath
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Morgan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sweet Water, with the one closest to Sweet Water listed first.
    • Prentice
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Prentice is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prentice
    • Alexander
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Literberry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Sangamon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sweet Water, with the one closest to Sweet Water listed first.
    • Cantrall
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Williamsville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Sherman
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Salisbury
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Salisbury is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
    • Ridgely
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Ridgely is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgely
    • Spaulding
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Spaulding is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spaulding
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 836 people
    • Grandview
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Grandview is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,369 people
    • Buffalo Hart
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Buffalo Hart is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Hart
    • Riverton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Clear Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Clear Lake is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
    • Pleasant Plains
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Hawthorne Place
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Hawthorne Place is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawthorne Place
    • Dawson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Schuyler County
    • Bluff City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Bluff City is located in Schuyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
  • Tazewell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sweet Water, with the one closest to Sweet Water listed first.
    • Winkel ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Winkel is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winkel
    • Delavan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Green Valley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Boynton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Boynton is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boynton
    • Brownwood ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Brownwood is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownwood
    • Burt
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Burt is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burt
    • Richmond
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Richmond is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
    • Parkland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Parkland is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkland
    • Armington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Hopedale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Sutter ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Sutter is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutter
    • Dillon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Dillon is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillon
    • Mindale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Mindale is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mindale

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

Cemeteries Near Sweet Water ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sweet Water.

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 Sweet Water - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Sugar Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Indian Point Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Elmwood Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Lebanon Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Walnut Ridge Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Irish Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Hornback Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Baker Prairie #1 Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Old West Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old West Cemetery
    • The Old West Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Abner Hall Cemetery
    • Athens Cemetery
    • West Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #108804 <3>
  • Godbey Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Smoot Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (296 more) ...
    • Rose Hill Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Baker Prairie #2 Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Joel Hall Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)

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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Sweet Water had a population of 225 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Greenview
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Curtis
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Curtis is located in Menard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis
  • Athens
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Fancy Prairie
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Fancy Prairie is located in Menard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Prairie
  • Middletown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Tice
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Tice is located in Menard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tice
  • Petersburg
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Cantrall
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Mason City
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Hill Top
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Hill Top is located in Menard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Top
  • Williamsville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • New Holland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Elkhart
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Loyd
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Loyd is located in Menard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyd
    • Salisbury
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Salisbury is located in Sangamon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury

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

Newspapers Published in Sweet Water ...

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 232 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sweet Water.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sweet Water, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sweet Water.

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 Sweet Water:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sweet Water) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Sweet Water, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.