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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 Velma (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 Velma. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Velma is located in Christian County.

To see how the shape of Illinois' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Christian County: Macon, Montgomery, Sangamon & Shelby.

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

  • Christian County     (The home county of Velma)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Velma, with the one closest to Velma listed first.
    • Owaneco
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Owaneco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owaneco
      • Owaneco is located in Christian County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 223 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Owaneco <2>
    • Taylorville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Millersville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Millersville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersville
      • Millersville is located in Christian County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Millersville
      • From Velma to Millersville
    • Sandersville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sandersville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandersville
      • Sandersville is located in Christian County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sandersville
      • From Velma to Sandersville
    • Clarksdale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Stonington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stonington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonington
      • Stonington is located in Christian County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 835 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stonington <2>
    • Assumption
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Sharpsburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sharpsburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpsburg
      • Sharpsburg is located in Christian County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sharpsburg
      • From Velma to Sharpsburg
    • Jeisyville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jeisyville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeisyville
      • Jeisyville is located in Christian County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
    • Kincaid
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kincaid have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kincaid
      • Kincaid is located in Christian County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,362 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kincaid <2>
    • Rosamond
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosamond have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosamond
      • Rosamond is located in Christian County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rosamond <2>
    • Palmer
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Palmer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
      • Palmer is located in Christian County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Palmer <2>
    • Bulpitt
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bulpitt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bulpitt
      • Bulpitt is located in Christian County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bulpitt <2>
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Velma, with the one closest to Velma listed first.
    • Dressor
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dressor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dressor
      • Dressor is located in Fayette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dressor
      • From Velma to Dressor
    • Ramsey
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Bayle City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Bingham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bingham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bingham
      • Bingham is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bingham <2>
    • Holliday
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Logan County
  • Macon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Velma, with the one closest to Velma listed first.
    • Blue Mound
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Mound have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mound
      • Blue Mound is located in Macon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,065 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Mound <2>
    • Macon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Boody
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Elwin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elwin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elwin
      • Elwin is located in Macon County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elwin <2>
    • Niantic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Harristown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harristown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harristown
      • Harristown is located in Macon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,278 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harristown <2>
    • Turpin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Turpin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turpin
      • Turpin is located in Macon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Turpin
      • From Velma to Turpin
    • Hervey City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hervey City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hervey City
      • Hervey City is located in Macon County
    • Mount Zion
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Zion have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
      • Mount Zion is located in Macon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,762 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Zion <2>
    • Decatur
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bearsdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bearsdale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearsdale
      • Bearsdale is located in Macon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bearsdale
      • From Velma to Bearsdale
    • Long Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Casner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Macoupin County
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Velma, with the one closest to Velma listed first.
    • Ohlman
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Wenonah
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wenonah have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wenonah
      • Wenonah is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
    • Nokomis
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Coalton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coalton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalton
      • Coalton is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 282 people
    • White Oak
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for White Oak. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
      • White Oak is located in Montgomery County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to White Oak
      • From Velma to White Oak
    • Witt
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Witt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Witt
      • Witt is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 833 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Witt <2>
    • Harvel
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harvel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvel
      • Harvel is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 210 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harvel <2>
    • Raymond
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Farmersville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmersville
      • Farmersville is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 662 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Farmersville <2>
    • Irving
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irving have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
      • Irving is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 457 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irving <2>
    • Waggoner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Hillsboro
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
      • Hillsboro is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,909 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hillsboro <2>
    • Butler
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Butler have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
      • Butler is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Butler <2>
  • Moultrie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Velma, with the one closest to Velma listed first.
    • Dalton City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bethany
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bethany have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
      • Bethany is located in Moultrie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,210 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bethany <2>
    • Dunn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dunn. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn
      • Dunn is located in Moultrie County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dunn
      • From Velma to Dunn
  • Sangamon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Velma, with the one closest to Velma listed first.
    • New City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New City
      • New City is located in Sangamon County
    • Pawnee
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pawnee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee
      • Pawnee is located in Sangamon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,646 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pawnee <2>
    • Commanche Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Commanche Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commanche Village
      • Commanche Village is located in Sangamon County
    • Mechanicsburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Divernon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Illiopolis
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Rochester
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rochester have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
      • Rochester is located in Sangamon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,715 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rochester <2>
    • Glenarm
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Buffalo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Chatham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chatham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
      • Chatham is located in Sangamon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,159 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chatham <2>
    • Dawson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dawson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
      • Dawson is located in Sangamon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dawson <2>
    • Clear Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clear Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
      • Clear Lake is located in Sangamon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
    • Auburn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Shelby County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Velma, with the one closest to Velma listed first.
    • Moweaqua
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moweaqua have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moweaqua
      • Moweaqua is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,684 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moweaqua <2>
    • Oconee
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Tower Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tower Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Hill
      • Tower Hill is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tower Hill <2>
    • Yantisville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Lakewood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakewood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
      • Lakewood is located in Shelby County
    • Shelbyville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Herrick
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Herrick have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrick
      • Herrick is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Herrick <2>
    • Findlay
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Cowden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cowden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowden
      • Cowden is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 573 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cowden <2>
    • Middlesworth
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Fancher
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fancher. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancher
      • Fancher is located in Shelby County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fancher
      • From Velma to Fancher

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

Cemeteries Near Velma ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Velma.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Donner Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Donner Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Donner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fraley Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fraley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fraley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Owaneco Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Glen Haven Memorial Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Harris Cemetery #2
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harris Cemetery #2
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harris Cemetery #2 have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Mound Chapel United Brethen Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mound Chapel United Brethen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mound Chapel United Brethen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Durbin Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Durbin Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Durbin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Young Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Young Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Young Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Anderson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Anderson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Anderson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Buckeye Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Buckeye Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Buckeye Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Potters Field Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Potters Field Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Potters Field Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (323 more) ...
    • Long Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Long Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Long Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Tanner Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tanner Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tanner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Brush Creek Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brush Creek Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brush Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Velma had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Owaneco
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Owaneco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owaneco
    • Owaneco is located in Christian County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 223 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Owaneco <2>
  • Taylorville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Willeys
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willeys have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willeys
    • Willeys is located in Christian County
  • Millersville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Millersville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersville
    • Millersville is located in Christian County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Millersville
    • From Velma to Millersville
  • Clarksdale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Stonington
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stonington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonington
    • Stonington is located in Christian County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 835 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stonington <2>
  • Dunkel
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunkel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkel
    • Dunkel is located in Christian County
  • Assumption
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Sharpsburg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sharpsburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpsburg
    • Sharpsburg is located in Christian County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Sharpsburg
    • From Velma to Sharpsburg
  • Palmer
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Palmer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
    • Palmer is located in Christian County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Palmer <2>
  • Rosamond
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosamond have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosamond
    • Rosamond is located in Christian County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rosamond <2>
  • Ohlman
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Radford
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Radford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford
      • Radford is located in Christian County
    • Pana
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pana have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pana
      • Pana is located in Christian County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,327 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pana <2>
    • Edinburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Velma ...

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 158 newspapers that have been published in the area around Velma.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Velma, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Velma.

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 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 Velma:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Velma. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>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.
<5>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 Velma, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Velma) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Velma. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.5152, Longitude: -89.2322       In this case, the coordinates for Velma have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025