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 Walnut Prairie (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 Walnut Prairie. 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.
Name Variations for Walnut Prairie ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Walnut Prairie: Walnut Pr.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 doctors 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.
Walnut Prairie is located in Clark 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 Clark County: Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Edgar, Jasper, Sullivan (IN) & Vigo (IN).
Below are the counties that are near Walnut Prairie. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Walnut Prairie:
- Clark County (The home county of Walnut Prairie)
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Prairie, with the one closest to Walnut Prairie listed first.
- West Union
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- West Union is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
- Snyder
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Snyder is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snyder
- York
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- York is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Melrose
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Melrose is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Marshall
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Clark Center
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Clark Center is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark Center
- Livingston
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Livingston is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
- Weaver
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Weaver is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
- Martinsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hogue Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Hogue Town is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hogue Town
- Dennison
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Dennison is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennison
- Clarksville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clarksville is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
- Coles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Prairie, with the one closest to Walnut Prairie listed first.
- Hutton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hutton is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton
- Ashmore
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Omer ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Omer is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Omer
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Prairie, with the one closest to Walnut Prairie listed first.
- West York
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hutsonville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Annapolis
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Trimble
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Trimble is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trimble
- Gordon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Gordon is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Palestine
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Robinson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Bellair
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bellair is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellair
- Dogwood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Dogwood is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood
- Kibbie ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Kibbie is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibbie
- Duncanville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Duncanville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncanville
- Stoy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Prairie, with the one closest to Walnut Prairie listed first.
- Hazel Dell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Hazel Dell is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Dell
- Union Center
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Union Center is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Center
- Timothy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Timothy is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timothy
- Greenup
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Diona
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Diona is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diona
- Walla Walla
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Walla Walla is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walla Walla
- Jewett
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Toledo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Edgar County
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Prairie, with the one closest to Walnut Prairie listed first.
- Oliver
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Oliver is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliver
- Bell Ridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Bell Ridge is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Ridge
- Elbridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Elbridge is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbridge
- Nevins
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Nevins is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevins
- Grandview
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Grandview is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Vermilion
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Kentucky
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Kentucky is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentucky
- Conlogue
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Conlogue is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conlogue
- Paris
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Kansas
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Huffmanville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Huffmanville is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffmanville
- Redmon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Prairie, with the one closest to Walnut Prairie listed first.
- Yale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hunt City
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Hunt City is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt City
- Willow Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hidalgo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Rose Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Rose Hill is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
- Falmouth
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Falmouth is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth
- Sainte Marie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Prairie, with the one closest to Walnut Prairie listed first.
- Birds
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Russellville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Clay County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Prairie, with the one closest to Walnut Prairie listed first.
- Coalmont
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Coalmont is located in Clay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalmont
- Cory
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Cory is located in Clay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cory
- Howesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Howesville is located in Clay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howesville
- Clay City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Eel River
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Eel River is located in Clay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eel River
- Saline City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Saline City is located in Clay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saline City
- Art
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Art is located in Clay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Art
- Cloverland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cloverland is located in Clay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverland
- Staunton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Staunton is located in Clay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staunton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 502 people
- Greene County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Prairie, with the one closest to Walnut Prairie listed first.
- Gilmour
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Gilmour is located in Greene County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmour
- Jasonville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Midland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Midland is located in Greene County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
- White Rose
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- White Rose is located in Greene County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rose
- Hoosier
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hoosier is located in Greene County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoosier
- Linton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Knox County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Prairie, with the one closest to Walnut Prairie listed first.
- Oaktown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Busseron
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Busseron is located in Knox County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busseron
- Parke County (IN)
- West Atherton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- West Atherton is located in Parke County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Atherton
- Sullivan County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Prairie, with the one closest to Walnut Prairie listed first.
- Fairbanks
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Fairbanks is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbanks
- Graysville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Graysville is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graysville
- Scott City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Scott City is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott City
- Merom
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Shelburn
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Farmersburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- New Lebanon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sullivan
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hymera
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Hymera is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hymera
- Population from the 2020 Census: 758 people
- Paxton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Paxton is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
- Scotchtown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Scotchtown is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotchtown
- Carlisle
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Vermillion County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Prairie, with the one closest to Walnut Prairie listed first.
- Universal
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Universal is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Universal
- Population from the 2020 Census: 339 people
- Blanford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Blanford is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanford
- Vigo County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Walnut Prairie, with the one closest to Walnut Prairie listed first.
- Vigo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Vigo is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vigo
- Prairie Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Prairie Creek is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Creek
- Prairieton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Prairieton is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieton
- Pimento
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Pimento is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pimento
- Youngstown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Youngstown is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngstown
- Toad Hop
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Toad Hop is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toad Hop
- Liggett
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Liggett is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liggett
- West Terre Haute
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Taylorville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Taylorville is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorville
- Terre Haute
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lewis
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Lewis is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis
- Barnhart Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Barnhart Town is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnhart Town
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Walnut Prairie, see our County-by-County Page for Walnut Prairie.
Cemeteries Near Walnut Prairie ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Walnut Prairie.
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 Walnut Prairie - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Walnut Prairie covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Walnut Prairie, with the one closest to Walnut Prairie listed first.
- Shawler Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Ohio Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Harrison Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Hogue Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Walnut Prairie Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Ziegler Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Plymouth Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bailff Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bradbury Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- York Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Darwin Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (458 more) ...
- Blizzard Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lindley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Medsker Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Walnut Prairie had a population of 68 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Walnut Prairie, with the one closest to Walnut Prairie listed first.
- West Union
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- West Union is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
- Snyder
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Snyder is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snyder
- West York
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- York
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- York is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Darwin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Darwin is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darwin
- Melrose
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Melrose is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Ernst
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Ernst is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ernst
- Fairbanks
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Fairbanks is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbanks
- Vigo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Vigo is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vigo
- Orange
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Orange is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange
- Hutton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hutton is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton
- Hutsonville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Prairie Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Prairie Creek is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Creek
- Annapolis
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Graysville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Graysville is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graysville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Walnut Prairie. See our List of 1890's Communities around Walnut Prairie.
Newspapers Published in Walnut Prairie ...
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 99 newspapers that have been published in the area around Walnut Prairie.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Walnut Prairie, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Walnut Prairie.
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 helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Walnut Prairie:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Clark County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Coles County
- Crawford County
- Cumberland County
- Edgar County
- Jasper County
- Lawrence County
- Clay County
- Greene County
- Knox County
- Parke County
- Sullivan County
- Vermillion County
- Vigo 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> | 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 Walnut Prairie, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Walnut Prairie) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |