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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 Taylor Hill (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 Taylor Hill. 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 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.

Taylor Hill is located in Franklin 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 Franklin County: Hamilton, Jackson, Jefferson, Perry, Saline & Williamson.

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

  • Franklin County     (The home county of Taylor Hill)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taylor Hill, with the one closest to Taylor Hill listed first.
    • Frisco
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Ewing
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Whittington
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Akin
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Benton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Steel City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Hanaford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Hanaford is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanaford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
    • Parrish
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Smothersville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Smothersville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
    • Rend City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Rend City is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rend City
    • West City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • West City is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 626 people
    • Sesser
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Gallatin County
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taylor Hill, with the one closest to Taylor Hill listed first.
    • Macedonia
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Lovilla
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Dahlgren
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Flint
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Diamond City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Diamond City is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond City
    • Piopolis
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • McLeansboro
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Belle Prairie City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Belle Prairie City is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Prairie City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
    • Walpole
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jefferson City ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Jefferson City is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson City
    • Dale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Broughton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Jackson County
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taylor Hill, with the one closest to Taylor Hill listed first.
    • Ina
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Belle Rive
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Bonnie
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Opdyke
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Nason
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Dareville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Fitzgerrell ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Fitzgerrell is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzgerrell
    • Emerson City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Emerson City is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson City
    • Marlow
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Marcoe
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Waltonville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Bluford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taylor Hill, with the one closest to Taylor Hill listed first.
    • Hickory Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Hickory Hill is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hill
    • Kell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Union Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Union Town is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Town
    • Walnut Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Cartter
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Perry County
  • Saline County
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taylor Hill, with the one closest to Taylor Hill listed first.
    • Du Bois
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Du Bois is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Bois
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
    • Radom
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Ashley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Richview
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Baldwin Heights
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Baldwin Heights is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin Heights
    • Irvington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Posen
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Posen is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Posen
  • Wayne County
  • White County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taylor Hill, with the one closest to Taylor Hill listed first.
    • Enfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Springerton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Mill Shoals
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Norris City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Stokes
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Burnt Prairie
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Williamson County

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

Cemeteries Near Taylor Hill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Taylor Hill.

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 Taylor Hill - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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 in 1895, Taylor Hill had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Ewing
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Spring Garden
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Spring Garden is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
  • Macedonia
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Akin
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Dahlgren
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Belle Rive
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Benton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Flint
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Delafield
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Delafield is located in Hamilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delafield
  • Opdyke
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Smothersville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Smothersville is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
  • Parrish
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Fitzgerrell ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Fitzgerrell is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzgerrell
    • Braden
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Braden is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braden
    • Thompsonville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Taylor Hill ...

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 82 newspapers that have been published in the area around Taylor Hill.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Taylor Hill, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Taylor Hill.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Taylor Hill:

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