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 Point Ferry (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 Point Ferry. 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 Point Ferry ...
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 West Point Ferry: W. Pt. Ferry
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 hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
West Point Ferry is located in Calhoun 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 Calhoun County: Greene, Jersey, Pike, Lincoln (MO), Pike (MO) & Saint Charles (MO).
Below are the counties that are near West Point Ferry. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Point Ferry:
- Calhoun County (The home county of West Point Ferry)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point Ferry, with the one closest to West Point Ferry listed first.
- Batchtown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Brussels
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Gilead
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Gilead is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Golden Eagle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Star City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Star City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
- Deer Plain
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Deer Plain is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Plain
- Hardin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Hamburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Michael
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Mozier
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Kampsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Belleview
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Belleview is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
- Cliffdale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Cliffdale is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffdale
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point Ferry, with the one closest to West Point Ferry listed first.
- East Hardin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- East Hardin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hardin
- Eldred
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Mid City ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mid City is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid City
- Woody
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Woody is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woody
- Kane
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Carrollton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Walkerville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Walkerville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkerville
- Belltown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Belltown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown
- Jersey County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point Ferry, with the one closest to West Point Ferry listed first.
- Nutwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Nutwood is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutwood
- Fieldon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Grafton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Spankey
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Spankey is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spankey
- Chautauqua
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Chautauqua is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
- Otterville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Otterville is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otterville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Elsah
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Dow
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- McClusky
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- McClusky is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClusky
- Jerseyville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Delhi
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Delhi is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
- Fidelity
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Macoupin County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point Ferry, with the one closest to West Point Ferry listed first.
- Brighton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Piasa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point Ferry, with the one closest to West Point Ferry listed first.
- Melville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Melville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melville
- Altamont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Godfrey
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Belmont Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Belmont Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont Village
- Alton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Pike County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point Ferry, with the one closest to West Point Ferry listed first.
- Bee Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Bee Creek is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee Creek
- Straut
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Straut is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straut
- Franklin County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point Ferry, with the one closest to West Point Ferry listed first.
- Port Royal ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Port Royal is located in Franklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Royal
- Saint Albans
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lincoln County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point Ferry, with the one closest to West Point Ferry listed first.
- Cap au Gris
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Cap au Gris is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cap au Gris
- Winfield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Foley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Old Monroe
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Argentville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Argentville is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argentville
- Chain-of-Rocks
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Chain-of-Rocks is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chain-of-Rocks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Fountain N' Lakes
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Fountain N' Lakes is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain N' Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
- Fountain N' Lakes has also been known as:
- Fountain N' Lakes village
- Elsberry
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- New Hope
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- New Hope is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Moscow Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Troy
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Troy is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,341 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Troy <1>
- Auburn
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Auburn is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
- Briscoe
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Briscoe is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briscoe
- Pike County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point Ferry, with the one closest to West Point Ferry listed first.
- Annada
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Annada is located in Pike County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annada
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28 people
- Sledd
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Sledd is located in Pike County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sledd
- Paynesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Paynesville is located in Pike County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
- Eolia
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Calumet
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Calumet is located in Pike County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calumet
- Clarksville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cyrene
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cyrene is located in Pike County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cyrene
- Saint Charles County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point Ferry, with the one closest to West Point Ferry listed first.
- Saint Paul
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Saint Paul is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,796 people
- O'Fallon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- O'Fallon is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Fallon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 89,769 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for O'Fallon <1>
- Flint Hill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Flint Hill is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 794 people
- Josephville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Josephville is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josephville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 485 people
- Saint Peters
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Lake Saint Louis
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Gardnerville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Gardnerville is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardnerville
- Wentzville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- All Saints Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- All Saints Village is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for All Saints Village
- Cottleville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Dardenne Prairie
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Saint Charles
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Harvester
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Saint Louis City (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point Ferry, with the one closest to West Point Ferry listed first.
- University City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- University City is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34,049 people
- Baden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Baden is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
- Saint Louis County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point Ferry, with the one closest to West Point Ferry listed first.
- Earth City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bridgeton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bridgeton is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,498 people
- Champ
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Champ is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champ
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13 people
- Vigus
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Vigus is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vigus
- Gumbo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Gumbo is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gumbo
- Hazelwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Maryland Heights
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Maryland Heights is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryland Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,895 people
- Chesterfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Lake
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Lake is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake
- Florissant
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Florissant is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florissant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 50,795 people
- Berkeley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Berkeley is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkeley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,892 people
- Edmundson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Edmundson is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmundson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 828 people
- Fernridge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fernridge is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernridge
- Warren County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point Ferry, with the one closest to West Point Ferry listed first.
- Wright City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Innsbrook
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Innsbrook is located in Warren County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Innsbrook
- Population from the 2020 Census: 597 people
- Innsbrook has also been known as:
- Innsbrook village
- Truesdale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Truesdale is located in Warren County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truesdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 922 people
- Warrenton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Point Ferry, see our County-by-County Page for West Point Ferry.
Cemeteries Near West Point Ferry ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Point Ferry.
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 Point Ferry - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Point Ferry covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Point Ferry, with the one closest to West Point Ferry listed first.
- Ingle Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- St. Barbara Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wilson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Winfield Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Minesinger Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Stonebraker Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Corinth Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Bethany Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Admire Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hetzer Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Argent Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (349 more) ...
- Hartford Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Rosedale Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- New Salem Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<3>
While we didn't find West Point Ferry in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Point Ferry.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Point Ferry, with the one closest to West Point Ferry listed first.
- Beechville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Beechville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechville
- Batchtown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Winfield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Brevator
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Brevator is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brevator
- Meppen
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Meppen is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meppen
- Foley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Old Monroe
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Conrad
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Conrad is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conrad
- Brussels
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Argentville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Argentville is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argentville
- Rosedale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rosedale is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
- Chain-of-Rocks
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Chain-of-Rocks is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chain-of-Rocks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Golden Eagle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Apex
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Apex is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apex
- Gilead
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Gilead is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Point Ferry. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Point Ferry.
Newspapers Published in West Point Ferry ...
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 71 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Point Ferry.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Point Ferry, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Point Ferry.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 West Point Ferry:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Calhoun County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Greene County
- Jersey County
- Macoupin County
- Madison County
- Pike County
- Franklin County
- Lincoln County
- Pike County
- Saint Charles County
- Saint Louis City
- Saint Louis County
- Warren 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 Point Ferry, 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 Point Ferry) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |