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 Toledo (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 Toledo. 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 hospitals 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.
Toledo is located in Cumberland County and is the County Seat.
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 Cumberland County: Clark, Coles, Crawford, Effingham, Jasper & Shelby.
Below are the counties that are near Toledo. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Toledo:
- Cumberland County (The home county of Toledo)
- The following are listed by their distance from Toledo, with the one closest to Toledo listed first.
- Bradbury
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Bradbury is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradbury
- Greenup
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jewett
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Walla Walla
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Walla Walla is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walla Walla
- Timothy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Timothy is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timothy
- Johnstown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Johnstown is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Janesville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Diona
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Diona is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diona
- Union Center
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Union Center is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Center
- Hazel Dell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hazel Dell is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Dell
- Neoga
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Clark County
- The following are listed by their distance from Toledo, with the one closest to Toledo listed first.
- Casey
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Cumberland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Cumberland is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Oak Point
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Oak Point is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Point
- Oilfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Oilfield is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oilfield
- Hogue Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Hogue Town is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hogue Town
- Westfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Martinsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Cleone
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cleone is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleone
- Clark Center
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Clark Center is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark Center
- Melrose
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Melrose is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Clarksville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Clarksville is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
- Marshall
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Clay County
- Ingraham
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Coles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Toledo, with the one closest to Toledo listed first.
- Trilla
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lerna
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Hutton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hutton is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton
- Magnet
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Magnet is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnet
- Charleston
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Mattoon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dorans
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Dorans is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorans
- Ashmore
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bushton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Bushton is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushton
- Humboldt
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Saint Omer ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Omer is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Omer
- Cooks Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Cooks Mills is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Toledo, with the one closest to Toledo listed first.
- Bellair
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Bellair is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellair
- Kibbie ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Kibbie is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibbie
- Dogwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Dogwood is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood
- Annapolis
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Oblong
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Stoy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Green Brier
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Green Brier is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Brier
- Oil Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Oil Center is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil Center
- Douglas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Toledo, with the one closest to Toledo listed first.
- Arcola
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Filson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Filson is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Filson
- Hindsboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Kemp
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Kemp is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kemp
- Chesterville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Chesterville is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterville
- Edgar County
- The following are listed by their distance from Toledo, with the one closest to Toledo listed first.
- Kansas
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Grandview
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Grandview is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Bell Ridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bell Ridge is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Ridge
- Effingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Toledo, with the one closest to Toledo listed first.
- Montrose
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Montrose is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
- Teutopolis
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Green Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Green Creek is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Creek
- Dieterich
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Effingham
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Heartville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Heartville is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heartville
- Shumway
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Funkhouser
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Funkhouser is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Funkhouser
- Watson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dexter
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dexter is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dexter
- Moccasin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Moccasin is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moccasin
- Beecher City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Beecher City is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beecher City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 451 people
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Toledo, with the one closest to Toledo listed first.
- Hidalgo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rose Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rose Hill is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
- Falmouth
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Falmouth is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth
- Yale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Wheeler
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Lis
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Lis is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lis
- Newton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Hunt City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Hunt City is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt City
- Willow Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bogota
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Bogota is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogota
- Sainte Marie
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- West Liberty
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- West Liberty is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Liberty
- Moultrie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Toledo, with the one closest to Toledo listed first.
- Gays
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Coles
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Coles is located in Moultrie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coles
- Allenville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Allenville is located in Moultrie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
- Sullivan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Richland County
- Wakefield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Wakefield is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakefield
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Toledo, with the one closest to Toledo listed first.
- Sigel
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Trowbridge
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Trowbridge is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trowbridge
- Sexson Corner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sexson Corner is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexson Corner
- Stewardson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Strasburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Windsor
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mode
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Mode is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mode
- Middlesworth
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Middlesworth is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesworth
- Fancher
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Fancher is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancher
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Toledo, see our County-by-County Page for Toledo.
Cemeteries Near Toledo ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Toledo.
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 Toledo - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Toledo covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Toledo, with the one closest to Toledo listed first.
- Toledo Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Berry Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Salem Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Friends Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Upper Berry Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Farmer Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bear Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Elliott Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Haggins Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jewett Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Greenup Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Tippett Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (442 more) ...
- Harmony Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Peach Orchard Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Reeds Woods Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
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 Toledo had a population of 676 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Toledo had a population of 1,185 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Toledo, with the one closest to Toledo listed first.
- Bradbury
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Bradbury is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradbury
- Jewett
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Greenup
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Walla Walla
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Walla Walla is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walla Walla
- Johnstown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Johnstown is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Timothy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Timothy is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timothy
- Janesville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Roslyn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Roslyn is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roslyn
- Diona
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Diona is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diona
- Campbell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Campbell is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
- Hidalgo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Union Center
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Union Center is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Center
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Trilla
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Montrose
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Montrose is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
- Lerna
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Toledo. See our List of 1890's Communities around Toledo.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Toledo ...
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 168 newspapers that have been published in the area around Toledo.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Toledo. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Toledo and those printed in the larger area surrounding Toledo.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4> of Toledo.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Toledo:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Cumberland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clark County
- Clay County
- Coles County
- Crawford County
- Douglas County
- Edgar County
- Effingham County
- Jasper County
- Moultrie County
- Richland County
- Shelby County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Illinois
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 Toledo, 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 from Point A (ie- Toledo) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |