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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 Tamms (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 Tamms. 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 southwest 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 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.

Tamms is located in Alexander 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 Alexander County: Pulaski, Union, Ballard (KY), Cape Girardeau (MO), Mississippi (MO) & Scott (MO).

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

  • Alexander County     (The home county of Tamms)
  • Jackson County
  • Johnson County
  • Massac County
  • Pulaski County
  • Union County
  • Ballard County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tamms, with the one closest to Tamms listed first.
    • Barlow
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bandana
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • La Center
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Wickliffe
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Kevil
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Kevil is located in Ballard County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kevil
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kevil <1>
    • Ceredo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Blandville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Blandville is located in Ballard County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blandville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
    • Gage
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Lovelaceville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Carlisle County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tamms, with the one closest to Tamms listed first.
    • Bardwell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Cunningham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • McCracken County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tamms, with the one closest to Tamms listed first.
    • Ragland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Woodville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Cimota City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Cimota City is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cimota City
    • West Future City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • West Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Future City
    • Grahamville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Future City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Future City
    • West Paducah
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Camelia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Cape Girardeau County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tamms, with the one closest to Tamms listed first.
    • Cape Girardeau
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Dutchtown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Gordonville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Jackson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Jackson is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,699 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jackson <1>
    • Leemon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Allenville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Allenville is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
    • Delta
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Delta is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 421 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Delta <1>
    • Pocahontas
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Pocahontas is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pocahontas <1>
    • Cliff ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Randles
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Whitewater
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Whitewater is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitewater
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
    • Burfordville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Mississippi County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tamms, with the one closest to Tamms listed first.
    • Greenfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Greenfield is located in Mississippi County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
    • Wyatt
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Wyatt is located in Mississippi County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
    • Wilson City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Wilson City is located in Mississippi County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
    • Charleston
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Bertrand
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Bertrand is located in Mississippi County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertrand
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 747 people
    • Anniston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Anniston is located in Mississippi County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anniston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
  • New Madrid County (MO)
  • Scott County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tamms, with the one closest to Tamms listed first.
    • Commerce
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Scott City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Kelso
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Kelso is located in Scott County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelso
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 589 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kelso <1>
    • Benton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Benton is located in Scott County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 880 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Benton <1>
    • Lambert
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Lambert is located in Scott County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 34 people
    • New Hamburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Blodgett
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Blodgett is located in Scott County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blodgett
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
    • Diehlstadt
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Diehlstadt is located in Scott County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diehlstadt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
    • Chaffee
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Chaffee is located in Scott County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaffee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,901 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chaffee <1>
    • Haywood City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Haywood City is located in Scott County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
    • Morley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Morley is located in Scott County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
    • Oran
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Oran is located in Scott County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oran
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oran <1>
  • Stoddard County (MO)
    • Painton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Painton is located in Stoddard County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Painton

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

Cemeteries Near Tamms ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Tamms.

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

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

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

  • Union Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Honey Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Provo Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • McCrite Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Hargis Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Henderson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Mize Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Palmer Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Childers Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Richwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Hodges Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Uninty Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (382 more) ...
    • Walford Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Lackey Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Rose Hill 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.<2>

While we didn't find Tamms in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Tamms.

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

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

Newspapers Published in Tamms ...

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 Tamms.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Tamms, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Tamms.

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 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 Tamms:

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