RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Illinois >> Vermilion County >> Vernal >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Vernal (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 Vernal. 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 and hospitals 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.

Vernal 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 Vernal. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Vernal:

  • Vermilion County     (The home county of Vernal)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vernal, with the one closest to Vernal listed first.
    • Henning
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Bismarck
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Alvin
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Potomac
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Collison
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Denmark ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Denmark is located in Vermilion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
    • Newtown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Newtown is located in Vermilion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
    • Rossville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Belgium Row
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Belgium Row is located in Vermilion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgium Row
    • Danville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Glenburn
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Glenburn is located in Vermilion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenburn
    • Armstrong
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Champaign County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vernal, with the one closest to Vernal listed first.
    • Penfield
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Royal
      (15 miles [24.1 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>
    • Ogden
      (16 miles [25.7 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>
    • Gifford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Flatville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Flatville is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatville
    • Homer
      (20 miles [32.2 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
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Mayview
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Mayview is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayview
    • Rutherford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Rutherford is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherford
    • Ludlow
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Rantoul
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Sidney
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Sidney is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,172 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sidney <1>
  • Edgar County
    • Palermo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Palermo is located in Edgar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palermo
  • Ford County
    • Paxton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Iroquois County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vernal, with the one closest to Vernal listed first.
    • Wellington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Claytonville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Goodwine
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Cissna Park
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Stockland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Milford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Loda
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Loda is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loda <1>
    • Schwer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Schwer is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schwer
    • Woodworth
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Woodworth is located in Iroquois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodworth
    • Buckley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Benton County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vernal, with the one closest to Vernal listed first.
    • Ambia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Ambia is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Talbot
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Boswell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Dunn ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Dunn is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn
    • Freeland Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Freeland Park is located in Benton County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeland Park
    • Oxford
      (29 miles [46.7 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>
  • Fountain County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vernal, with the one closest to Vernal listed first.
    • Covington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Layton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Layton is located in Fountain County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Layton
    • Attica
      (23 miles [37 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>
    • Stone Bluff
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Stone Bluff is located in Fountain County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Bluff
    • Veedersburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Harveysburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Harveysburg is located in Fountain County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveysburg
    • Mellott
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Mellott is located in Fountain County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellott
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 194 people
    • Newtown
      (29 miles [46.7 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
    • Hillsboro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Kingman
      (30 miles [48.3 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>
  • Vermillion County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vernal, with the one closest to Vernal listed first.
    • Rileysburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Rileysburg is located in Vermillion County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rileysburg
    • Gessie
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Gessie is located in Vermillion County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gessie
    • Tree Spring
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Tree Spring is located in Vermillion County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tree Spring
    • Perrysville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Eugene
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Eugene is located in Vermillion County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eugene
    • Cayuga
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • 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 southeast)
      • 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 Vernal, with the one closest to Vernal listed first.
    • State Line City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • State Line is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
    • Hedrick
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Hedrick is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedrick
    • Sloan ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Sloan is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sloan
    • Pence
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Pence is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pence
    • Foster
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Foster is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster
    • Baltimore ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Baltimore is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
    • Old Town
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Old Town is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
    • West Lebanon
      (16 miles [25.7 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
    • Brisco ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Brisco is located in Warren County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brisco
    • Williamsport
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Chatterton ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • 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 Vernal, see our County-by-County Page for Vernal.

Cemeteries Near Vernal ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vernal.

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

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

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

  • New Salem Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem Cemetery
    • The New Salem Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Salem Cemetery
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Fairchild Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairchild Cemetery
    • The Fairchild Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Brick Church Cemetery
    • Fairchild Cemetery Savanna
  • Gundy Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • 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<2> to the northwest of Bismarck.
    • The Gundy Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Davison Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #105964 <3>
  • Higginsville Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginsville Cemetery
    • The Higginsville Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Smalley Cemetery
  • Porter Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Workheiser Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Lorrence Pioneer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorrence Pioneer Cemetery
    • The Lorrence Pioneer Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Lorance Cemetery
  • Dodson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodson Cemetery
    • The Dodson Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Baptist Cemetery
  • Johnsonville Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonville Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Johnsonville Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 5 miles [8 km]<2> to the northwest of Danville.
    • The Johnsonville Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Humphrey Cemetery
    • Johnson Cemetery
    • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    • Steward Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #106361 <3>
  • Thurman Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thurman Cemetery
    • The Thurman Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Swisher Pioneer Cemetery
  • Old Collison Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (290 more) ...
    • Collison Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collison Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Collison Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Collison.
      • The Collison Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Pilot Chapel Cemetery
    • Stump Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Pentecost Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pentecost Cemetery
      • The Pentecost Cemetery has also been known as:
      • DeMoss Cemetery

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, Vernal had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Henning
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Higginsville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Higginsville is located in Vermilion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginsville
  • Rayville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Rayville is located in Vermilion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayville
  • Snider
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Snider is located in Vermilion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snider
  • Bismarck
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Alvin
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • 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>
  • Potomac
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • West Newell
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • West Newell is located in Vermilion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Newell
  • Rossville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Glenburn
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Glenburn is located in Vermilion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenburn
  • Hillery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Hillery is located in Vermilion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillery
  • Danville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Newell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Newell is located in Vermilion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
    • Thomas
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Thomas is located in Vermilion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
    • Blue Grass ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Blue Grass is located in Vermilion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Grass

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

Newspapers Published in Vernal ...

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 191 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vernal.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Vernal, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Vernal.

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 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 Vernal:

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