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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 Thomas (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 Thomas. 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.

Thomas is located in Vermilion 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 Vermilion County: Champaign, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Iroquois, Benton (IN), Vermillion (IN) & Warren (IN).

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

  • Vermilion County     (The home county of Thomas)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
    • Alvin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Alvin is located in Vermilion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
      • Alvin has also been known as:
      • Alvan Village
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alvin <1>
    • Bismarck
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Illiana
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Illiana is located in Vermilion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illiana
    • Rossville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Coalton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Coalton is located in Vermilion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalton
    • Henning
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Newell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Newell is located in Vermilion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
    • Denmark ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Denmark is located in Vermilion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
    • Hoopeston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Danville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Potomac
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Collison
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Champaign County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
    • Penfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Royal
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Royal is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Royal <1>
    • Gifford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Ogden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Ogden is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 787 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ogden <1>
    • Flatville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Flatville is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatville
    • Homer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Homer is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,143 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Homer <1>
    • Saint Joseph
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Iroquois County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
    • Wellington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Stockland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Goodwine
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Milford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Claytonville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Cissna Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Schwer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Schwer is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schwer
    • Woodland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Woodworth
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Woodworth is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodworth
  • Benton County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
    • Ambia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Ambia is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Talbot
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Boswell
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Dunn ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Dunn is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn
    • Oxford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Oxford is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,145 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oxford <1>
    • Freeland Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Freeland Park is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeland Park
    • Templeton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Templeton is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Templeton
    • Atkinson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Atkinson is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson
    • Fowler
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Fowler is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,305 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fowler <1>
    • Gravel Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Gravel Hill is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Hill
    • Earl Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Earl Park is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earl Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 342 people
    • Otterbein
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Fountain County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
    • Covington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Attica
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Attica is located in Fountain County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attica
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,324 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Attica <1>
    • Layton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Layton is located in Fountain County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Layton
    • Stone Bluff
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Stone Bluff is located in Fountain County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Bluff
    • Veedersburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Newtown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Newtown is located in Fountain County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
    • Roberts
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Roberts is located in Fountain County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberts
    • Mellott
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Mellott is located in Fountain County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellott
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 194 people
    • Hillsboro
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Harveysburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Harveysburg is located in Fountain County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveysburg
    • Kingman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Kingman is located in Fountain County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 458 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kingman <1>
    • Wallace
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Wallace is located in Fountain County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 83 people
  • Montgomery County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
    • Wingate
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Wingate is located in Montgomery County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingate
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 267 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wingate <1>
    • Waynetown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • New Richmond
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Tippecanoe County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
    • Odell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Odell is located in Tippecanoe County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odell
    • Glenhall
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Glenhall is located in Tippecanoe County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenhall
    • Westpoint
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Montmorenci
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Montmorenci is located in Tippecanoe County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montmorenci
    • Shadeland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Shadeland is located in Tippecanoe County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadeland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,922 people
  • Vermillion County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
    • Rileysburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Rileysburg is located in Vermillion County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rileysburg
    • Gessie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Gessie is located in Vermillion County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gessie
    • Tree Spring
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Tree Spring is located in Vermillion County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tree Spring
    • Perrysville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Eugene
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Eugene is located in Vermillion County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eugene
    • Cayuga
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Cayuga is located in Vermillion County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,095 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cayuga <1>
    • Newport
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Newport is located in Vermillion County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 475 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newport <1>
  • Warren County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
    • Hedrick
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Hedrick is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedrick
    • Sloan ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Sloan is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sloan
    • Pence
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Pence is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pence
    • West Lebanon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • West Lebanon is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lebanon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 686 people
    • State Line City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • State Line City is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
    • State Line
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • State Line is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
    • Old Town
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Old Town is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
    • Baltimore ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Baltimore is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
    • Brisco ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Brisco is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brisco
    • Foster
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Foster is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster
    • Williamsport
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Chatterton ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Chatterton is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatterton

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

Cemeteries Near Thomas ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thomas.

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

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

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

  • Jordan Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Rose Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Redwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Miller Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel Cemetery
    • The Bethel Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Wiseman Cemetery
  • Gundy Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gundy Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Gundy Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the northwest of Bismarck.
    • The Gundy Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Davison Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #105964 <2>
  • Leonard Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Huffman Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Walnut Corner Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Shankland Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Mann's Chapel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Mosonic Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (277 more) ...

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 in 1895, Thomas had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Hedrick
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Hedrick is located in Warren County (IN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedrick
  • Alvin
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Alvin is located in Vermilion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvin
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
    • Alvin has also been known as:
    • Alvan Village
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alvin <1>
  • Bismarck
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Marshfield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Marshfield is located in Warren County (IN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshfield
  • Johnsonville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Johnsonville is located in Warren County (IN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonville
  • Rayville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Rayville is located in Vermilion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayville
  • State Line
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • State Line is located in Warren County (IN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
  • West Lebanon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • West Lebanon is located in Warren County (IN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lebanon
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 686 people
  • West Newell
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • West Newell is located in Vermilion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Newell
  • Rossville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Vernal
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Vernal is located in Vermilion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernal
  • Henning
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Newell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Newell is located in Vermilion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
    • Carbondale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Carbondale is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbondale
    • Snider
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Snider is located in Vermilion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snider

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

Newspapers Published in Thomas ...

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 167 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thomas.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Thomas, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Thomas.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Thomas:

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>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 from Point A (ie- Thomas) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Thomas, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.