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 Rural Hill (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 Rural Hill. 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 Rural Hill ...
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 Rural Hill: W. Rural Hill
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.
West Rural Hill is located in Hamilton 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 Hamilton County: Franklin, Gallatin, Jefferson, Saline, Wayne, White & Williamson.
Below are the counties that are near West Rural Hill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Rural Hill:
- Hamilton County (The home county of West Rural Hill)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Rural Hill, with the one closest to West Rural Hill listed first.
- Macedonia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Walpole
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Walpole is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walpole
- Flint
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Flint is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
- Dale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Diamond City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Diamond City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond City
- Broughton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- McLeansboro
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lovilla
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Lovilla is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovilla
- Dahlgren
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Piopolis
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Piopolis is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piopolis
- Jefferson City ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jefferson City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson City
- Belle Prairie City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Belle Prairie City is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Prairie City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
- Bungay
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bungay is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bungay
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Rural Hill, with the one closest to West Rural Hill listed first.
- Akin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Thompsonville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Parrish
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Parrish is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Fitt's Hill ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fitt's Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitt's Hill
- Hanaford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Hanaford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanaford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
- Smothersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Smothersville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
- Steel City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Steel City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steel City
- Frisco
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Frisco is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frisco
- Taylor Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Taylor Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Hill
- Deering City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Deering City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deering City
- Ewing
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Benton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- West Frankfort
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- West Frankfort is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Frankfort
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,733 people
- Gallatin County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Rural Hill, with the one closest to West Rural Hill listed first.
- Omaha
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Elba
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Elba is located in Gallatin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
- Equality
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ridgway
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lawler
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lawler is located in Gallatin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawler
- Inman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Inman is located in Gallatin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman
- Junction
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- New Haven
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Rural Hill, with the one closest to West Rural Hill listed first.
- Dowell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Elkville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Hallidayboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Hallidayboro is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallidayboro
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Rural Hill, with the one closest to West Rural Hill listed first.
- Ina
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- 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>
- Belle Rive
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Bonnie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Nason
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Opdyke
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Fitzgerrell ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fitzgerrell is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzgerrell
- Dareville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dareville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dareville
- Emerson City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Emerson City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson City
- Bluford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Markham City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Markham City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markham City
- Marlow
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Marlow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlow
- Marcoe
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Marcoe is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcoe
- Waltonville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Rural Hill, with the one closest to West Rural Hill listed first.
- New Burnside
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Egyptian Hills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Egyptian Hills is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egyptian Hills
- Ozark
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Eagle Point Bay
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Eagle Point Bay is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point Bay
- Deer Ridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Rural Hill, with the one closest to West Rural Hill listed first.
- Du Quoin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- 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
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Saint Johns is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Sunfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Sunfield is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunfield
- Pope County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Rural Hill, with the one closest to West Rural Hill listed first.
- McCormick
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- McCormick is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCormick
- Oak
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Oak is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak
- Herod
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Saline County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Rural Hill, with the one closest to West Rural Hill listed first.
- Cornerville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Cornerville is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornerville
- Long Branch
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Long Branch is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Galatia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Raleigh
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Buena Vista
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Buena Vista is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Muddy
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Saline City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Saline City is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saline City
- Wasson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wasson is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasson
- Texas City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Texas City is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas City
- Liberty
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Liberty is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Eldorado
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Harrisburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Gaskins City
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Gaskins City is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaskins City
- Wayne County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Rural Hill, with the one closest to West Rural Hill listed first.
- Keenes
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Wayne City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Sims
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Barnhill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Boyleston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Boyleston is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyleston
- White County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Rural Hill, with the one closest to West Rural Hill listed first.
- Norris City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Enfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Stokes
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Stokes is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokes
- Roland
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Roland is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roland
- Springerton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Herald
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Mill Shoals
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Carmi
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Burnt Prairie
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Rural Hill, with the one closest to West Rural Hill listed first.
- Hartford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Hartford is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
- Corinth
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Corinth is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Pittsburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Johnston City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Stiritz
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Stiritz is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiritz
- Whiteash
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Whiteash is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteash
- Estimated population in 2014: 240 people
- Freeman Spur
(18 miles [29 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>
- Spillertown
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Spillertown is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spillertown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Herrin Junction ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Herrin Junction is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrin Junction
- Marion
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Herrin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Energy
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Colp
(24 miles [38.6 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>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Rural Hill, see our County-by-County Page for West Rural Hill.
Cemeteries Near West Rural Hill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Rural Hill.
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 Rural Hill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Rural Hill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Rural Hill, with the one closest to West Rural Hill listed first.
- Lampley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Brady Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cook Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- McFarland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Winn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Good Hope Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Isaacs Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Hall Town Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Cardwell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Cartwright Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Clem Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Old Ruff Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (482 more) ...
- Knights Prairie Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Manion Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jones Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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 Rural Hill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Rural Hill.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Rural Hill, with the one closest to West Rural Hill listed first.
- Rural Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Rural Hill is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Hill
- Akin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Braden
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Braden is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braden
- Thompsonville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- West End
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- West End is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West End
- Parrish
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Parrish is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Olga
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Olga is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olga
- Macedonia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Locust Grove ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Locust Grove is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
- Walpole
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Walpole is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walpole
- Flint
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Flint is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
- Fitt's Hill ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fitt's Hill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitt's Hill
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Long Branch
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Long Branch is located in Saline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Smothersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Smothersville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
- Galatia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Rural Hill. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Rural Hill.
Newspapers Published in West Rural Hill ...
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 103 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Rural Hill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Rural Hill, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Rural Hill.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Rural Hill:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Hamilton County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Gallatin County
- Jackson County
- Jefferson County
- Johnson County
- Perry County
- Pope County
- Saline County
- Wayne County
- White 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 Rural Hill, 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' (or 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- West Rural Hill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |