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 Union (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 Union. 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 Union ...
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 Union: W. Union
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Union. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Union.
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 Union 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 West Union. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Union:
- Clark County (The home county of West Union)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- York
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- York is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Snyder
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Snyder is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snyder
- Melrose
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Melrose is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Clark Center
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clark Center is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark Center
- Marshall
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Livingston
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Livingston is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
- Weaver
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Weaver is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
- Martinsville
(14 miles [22.5 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
- Oak Point
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Oak Point is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Point
- Clarksville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Clarksville is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
- Cumberland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Cumberland is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Coles County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Hutton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hutton is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton
- Ashmore
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- West York
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Hutsonville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Annapolis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Trimble
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Trimble is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trimble
- Gordon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Gordon is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Palestine
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Robinson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Dogwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dogwood is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood
- Bellair
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Bellair is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellair
- Kibbie ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kibbie is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibbie
- Stoy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Duncanville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Duncanville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncanville
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union 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 northwest)
- 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)
- Edgar County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Oliver
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Oliver is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliver
- Bell Ridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Bell Ridge is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Ridge
- Elbridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Elbridge is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbridge
- Nevins
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Nevins is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevins
- Grandview
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Grandview is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Vermilion
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Conlogue
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Conlogue is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conlogue
- Kentucky
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Kentucky is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentucky
- Paris
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Kansas
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Huffmanville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Huffmanville is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffmanville
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Yale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Hunt City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hunt City is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt City
- Willow Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hidalgo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Rose Hill
(26 miles [41.8 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
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Falmouth is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth
- Sainte Marie
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Newton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Birds
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Russellville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Clay County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Coalmont
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Coalmont is located in Clay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalmont
- Howesville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Howesville is located in Clay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howesville
- Cory
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cory is located in Clay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cory
- 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
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Saline City is located in Clay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saline City
- Art
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Art is located in Clay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Art
- Cloverland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cloverland is located in Clay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverland
- Greene County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union 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
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- White Rose is located in Greene County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rose
- Hoosier
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Hoosier is located in Greene County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoosier
- Linton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Knox County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Oaktown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Busseron
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Busseron is located in Knox County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busseron
- Sullivan County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union 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
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Graysville is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graysville
- Scott City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Scott City is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott City
- Merom
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Shelburn
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Farmersburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- New Lebanon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sullivan
(16 miles [25.7 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
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Paxton is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
- Carlisle
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jericho
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jericho is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
- Vermillion County (IN)
- Universal
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Universal is located in Vermillion County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Universal
- Population from the 2020 Census: 339 people
- Vigo County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Vigo
(8 miles [12.9 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 northeast)
- Prairie Creek is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Creek
- Prairieton
(14 miles [22.5 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 northeast)
- Pimento is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pimento
- Youngstown
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Youngstown is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngstown
- Toad Hop
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Toad Hop is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toad Hop
- Liggett
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Liggett is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liggett
- West Terre Haute
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Taylorville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Taylorville is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorville
- Lewis
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Lewis is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis
- Riley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Riley is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Union, see our County-by-County Page for West Union.
Cemeteries Near West Union ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Union.
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 Union - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Union covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Harrison Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Shawler Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Hogue Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Ohio Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Plymouth Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bailff Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lindley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bradbury Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- York Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Walnut Prairie Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Liberty Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (449 more) ...
- Draper Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Guyer Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Musgrave Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
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 West Union had a population of 95 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Walnut Prairie
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Walnut Prairie is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Prairie
- West York
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- York
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- York is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Snyder
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Snyder is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snyder
- Darwin
(5 miles [8 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
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Ernst is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ernst
- Hutsonville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Fairbanks
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Fairbanks is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbanks
- Graysville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Graysville is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graysville
- Vigo
(8 miles [12.9 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
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Annapolis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Prairie Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Prairie Creek is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Creek
- Hutton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hutton is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Union. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Union.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of West Union ...
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 98 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Union.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of West Union. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of West Union and those printed in the larger area surrounding West Union.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3> of West Union.
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 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 Union:
- 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
- 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 West Union, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Union) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |