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 West Frankfort (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 West Frankfort. 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 West Frankfort ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for West Frankfort: W. Frankfort
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Frankfort. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Frankfort.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.
West Frankfort is located in Franklin 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 Franklin County: Hamilton, Jackson, Jefferson, Perry, Saline & Williamson.
Below are the counties that are near West Frankfort. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Frankfort:
- Franklin County (The home county of West Frankfort)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Frankfort, with the one closest to West Frankfort listed first.
- Deering City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Deering City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deering City
- Orient
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cambon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Cambon is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambon
- Plumfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Plumfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
- Fitt's Hill ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Fitt's Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitt's Hill
- West City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- West City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 626 people
- Hanaford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hanaford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanaford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
- Parrish
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Parrish is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Smothersville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Smothersville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
- Zeigler
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Benton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Buckner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Frankfort, with the one closest to West Frankfort listed first.
- Macedonia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Flint
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Flint is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
- Walpole
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Walpole is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walpole
- Lovilla
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lovilla is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovilla
- Dale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Dahlgren
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Diamond City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Diamond City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond City
- Broughton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- McLeansboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Piopolis
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Piopolis is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piopolis
- Belle Prairie City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Belle Prairie City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Prairie City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
- Jefferson City ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jefferson City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson City
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Frankfort, with the one closest to West Frankfort listed first.
- Elkville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Hallidayboro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Hallidayboro is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallidayboro
- De Soto
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Dowell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Carbondale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Vergennes
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Makanda
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Murphysboro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Oraville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Pomona
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ava
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Frankfort, with the one closest to West Frankfort listed first.
- Emerson City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Emerson City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson City
- Fitzgerrell ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Fitzgerrell is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzgerrell
- Ina
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Ina is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,279 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ina <1>
- Nason
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Bonnie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Dareville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Dareville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dareville
- Scheller
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Waltonville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Marcoe
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Marcoe is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcoe
- Opdyke
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Belle Rive
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Vernon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Frankfort, with the one closest to West Frankfort listed first.
- Eagle Point Bay
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Eagle Point Bay is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point Bay
- Egyptian Hills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Egyptian Hills is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egyptian Hills
- Deer Ridge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
- Goreville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- New Burnside
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Ozark
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Reynoldsburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Reynoldsburg is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsburg
- Buncombe
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Frankfort, with the one closest to West Frankfort listed first.
- Du Quoin
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Du Quoin is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Quoin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,591 people
- Saint Johns
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Johns is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Sunfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sunfield is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunfield
- Tamaroa
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Pyatts
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Pyatts is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pyatts
- Pinckneyville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Pope County
- McCormick
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- McCormick is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCormick
- Saline County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Frankfort, with the one closest to West Frankfort listed first.
- Cornerville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Cornerville is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornerville
- Galatia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Long Branch
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Long Branch is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Carrier Mills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Carrier Mills is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrier Mills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,527 people
- Former names for Carrier Mills:
- Carriers Mills
- Morrilsville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carrier Mills <1>
- Raleigh
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Buena Vista
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Buena Vista is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Harrisburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Ledford
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Ledford is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledford
- Liberty
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Stonefort
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Muddy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Gaskins City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Gaskins City is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaskins City
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Frankfort, with the one closest to West Frankfort listed first.
- Lick Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Water Valley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Water Valley is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Cobden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Frankfort, with the one closest to West Frankfort listed first.
- Du Bois
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Du Bois is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Du Bois
- Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
- Radom
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Frankfort, with the one closest to West Frankfort listed first.
- Stiritz
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Stiritz is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiritz
- Freeman Spur
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Freeman Spur is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman Spur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
- Freeman Spur has also been known as:
- Freeman Spur village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeman Spur <1>
- Johnston City
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Herrin Junction ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Herrin Junction is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrin Junction
- Whiteash
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Whiteash is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteash
- Estimated population in 2014: 240 people
- Herrin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Spillertown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Spillertown is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spillertown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Pittsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Corinth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Corinth is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Colp
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Colp is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colp
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Former name for Colp:
- Colpville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colp <1>
- Energy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bush
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Bush is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bush
- Population from the 2020 Census: 263 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Frankfort, see our County-by-County Page for West Frankfort.
Cemeteries Near West Frankfort ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Frankfort.
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 West Frankfort - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Frankfort covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Frankfort, with the one closest to West Frankfort listed first.
- Hanes Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Bonner Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Boner Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boner Cemetery
- The Boner Cemetery has also been known as:
- Boner Chapel Cemetery
- Clayton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Lithuanian Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- County Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Oddfellow Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Trinity Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Tower Heights Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Heights Cemetery
- The Tower Heights Cemetery has also been known as:
- Tower Height Cemetery
- Follis Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Denning Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Continue List (491 more) ...
- Neal Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Joplin Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Freeman Spur Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
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>
While we didn't find West Frankfort in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Frankfort.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Frankfort, with the one closest to West Frankfort listed first.
- Frankfort
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Frankfort is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankfort
- Plumfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Plumfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
- Fitt's Hill ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Fitt's Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitt's Hill
- Parrish
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Parrish is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Smothersville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Smothersville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
- Benton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Buckner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Christopher
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Thompsonville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Corinth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Corinth is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Locust Grove ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Locust Grove is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
- Marion
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Akin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mulkeytown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Blairsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Blairsville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Frankfort. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Frankfort.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of West Frankfort ...
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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Frankfort.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of West Frankfort. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of West Frankfort and those printed in the larger area surrounding West Frankfort.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4> of West Frankfort.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 West Frankfort:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Franklin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hamilton County
- Jackson County
- Jefferson County
- Johnson County
- Perry County
- Pope County
- Saline County
- Union County
- Washington County
- Williamson 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 West Frankfort, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- West Frankfort) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |