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 Wolf Lake (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 Wolf Lake. 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 Wolf Lake ...
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 Wolf Lake: Wolf Lk.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Wolf Lake. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Wolf Lake.
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 northwest 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 north.
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 north 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.
Wolf Lake is located in Union 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 Union County: Alexander, Jackson, Johnson, Pulaski, Williamson, Cape Girardeau (MO) & Perry (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Wolf Lake. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wolf Lake:
- Union County (The home county of Wolf Lake)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wolf Lake, with the one closest to Wolf Lake listed first.
- Alto Pass
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Jonesboro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Reynoldsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Reynoldsville is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
- Anna
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Cobden
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Dutch Mills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dutch Mills is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Mills
- Water Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Water Valley is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Mill Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mill Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Dongola
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lick Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Mount Pleasant
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Alexander County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wolf Lake, with the one closest to Wolf Lake listed first.
- McClure
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- East Cape Girardeau
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- East Cape Girardeau is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cape Girardeau
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Elco
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Diswood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Diswood is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diswood
- Thebes
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Thebes is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thebes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Tamms
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Olive Branch
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Hodges Park
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Hodges Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges Park
- Unity
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Miller City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Cache
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Frog City ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Frog City is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog City
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wolf Lake, with the one closest to Wolf Lake listed first.
- Grand Tower
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Pomona
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Gorham
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Makanda
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jacob
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Murphysboro
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Carbondale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- De Soto
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Oraville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Ava
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Degognia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Degognia is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Degognia
- Hallidayboro
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Hallidayboro is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallidayboro
- Vergennes
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wolf Lake, with the one closest to Wolf Lake listed first.
- Cypress
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Buncombe
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Goreville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Deer Ridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
- Eagle Point Bay
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Eagle Point Bay is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point Bay
- Egyptian Hills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Egyptian Hills is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egyptian Hills
- Vienna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Belknap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wolf Lake, with the one closest to Wolf Lake listed first.
- Ullin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Perks
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Pulaski
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Villa Ridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Villa Ridge is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Ridge
- Grand Chain
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- New Grand Chain
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Karnak
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mounds
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mounds is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mounds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
- Olmsted
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wolf Lake, with the one closest to Wolf Lake listed first.
- Rockwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Shiloh Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Shiloh Hill is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh Hill
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wolf Lake, with the one closest to Wolf Lake listed first.
- Cambria
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Carterville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Crainville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Crainville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crainville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,419 people
- Blairsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Blairsville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsville
- Dewmaine
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Dewmaine is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewmaine
- Hurst
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bush
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bush is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bush
- Population from the 2020 Census: 263 people
- Colp
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- 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>
- Lake Crest
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lake Crest is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Crest
- Energy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Herrin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bollinger County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wolf Lake, with the one closest to Wolf Lake listed first.
- Sedgewickville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Sedgewickville is located in Bollinger County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedgewickville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 167 people
- Seopus
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Seopus is located in Bollinger County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seopus
- Laflin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Laflin is located in Bollinger County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laflin
- Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wolf Lake, with the one closest to Wolf Lake listed first.
- Leemon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Leemon is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemon
- Pocahontas
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Shawneetown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Shawneetown is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawneetown
- Cape Girardeau
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Jackson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Jackson is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,699 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jackson <1>
- Oak Ridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Old Appleton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Old Appleton is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Appleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
- Gordonville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Daisy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Daisy is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
- Millersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Dutchtown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dutchtown is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchtown
- Estimated population in 2018: 94 people
- Friedheim
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Burfordville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Perry County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wolf Lake, with the one closest to Wolf Lake listed first.
- Altenburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Frohna
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Frohna is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frohna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Brazeau
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Brazeau is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazeau
- Uniontown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Uniontown is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Farrar
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Farrar is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrar
- Eureka
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Eureka is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Longtown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Longtown is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longtown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
- Biehle
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Biehle is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biehle
- Millheim
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Millheim is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millheim
- Perryville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sereno
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sereno is located in Perry County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sereno
- Scott County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wolf Lake, with the one closest to Wolf Lake listed first.
- Scott City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Kelso
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Commerce
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Chaffee
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- New Hamburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- New Hamburg is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hamburg
- Benton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Lambert
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lambert is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert
- Population from the 2010 Census: 34 people
- Caney Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Caney Creek is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney Creek
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wolf Lake, see our County-by-County Page for Wolf Lake.
Cemeteries Near Wolf Lake ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wolf Lake.
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 Wolf Lake - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wolf Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wolf Lake, with the one closest to Wolf Lake listed first.
- Rallo Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Iona Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Noland Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Tabor Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Collins Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Thompson Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lange Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Zierath Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Kimmel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Walker Hill Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Stearns Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (439 more) ...
- Darby Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Hudson Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Vangilder Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 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.<2>
While we didn't find Wolf Lake in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wolf Lake.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wolf Lake, with the one closest to Wolf Lake listed first.
- Neelys Landing
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Neelys Landing is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neelys Landing
- Ware
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ware is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
- Aldridge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Aldridge is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldridge
- Lovejoy
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Lovejoy is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovejoy
- Oriole
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Oriole is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oriole
- Egypt Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Egypt Mills is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt Mills
- Leemon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Leemon is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemon
- Mountain Glen
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Mountain Glen is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Glen
- Alto Pass
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Grand Tower
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Jonesboro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Anna
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Cobden
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Pomona
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- New Wells ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- New Wells is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Wells
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wolf Lake. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wolf Lake.
Newspapers Published in Wolf Lake ...
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 Wolf Lake.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wolf Lake, 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 Wolf Lake.
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 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 Wolf Lake:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Union County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alexander County
- Jackson County
- Johnson County
- Pulaski County
- Randolph County
- Williamson County
- Bollinger County
- Cape Girardeau County
- Perry County
- Scott 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 Wolf Lake, 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- Wolf Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |