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 Wood River (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 Wood River. 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 Wood River ...
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 Wood River: Wood Riv.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Wood River. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Wood River.
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.
Wood River is located in Madison 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 Madison County: Bond, Clinton, Jersey, Macoupin, Montgomery, Saint Clair, Saint Charles (MO), Saint Louis City (MO) & Saint Louis (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Wood River. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wood River:
- Madison County (The home county of Wood River)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
- Rosewood Heights
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Rosewood Heights is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosewood Heights
- East Alton
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- East Alton is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Alton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,922 people
- Roxana
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Cottage Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Cottage Hills is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Hills
- Hartford
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- South Roxana
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- South Roxana is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Roxana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,986 people
- Bethalto
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Moro
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Alton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Brooks
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Brooks is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
- Poag
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Poag is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poag
- Mitchell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mitchell is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
- Bond County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
- Pierron
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Old Ripley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Old Ripley is located in Bond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Ripley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Sorento
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Pocahontas
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
- Deer Plain
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Deer Plain is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Plain
- Golden Eagle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Brussels
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
- Trenton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Aviston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- New Baden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Rose
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Rose is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Rose
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
- Kane
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rockbridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Mid City ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mid City is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid City
- Jersey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
- Delhi
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Delhi is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
- Elsah
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Chautauqua
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Chautauqua is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
- Dow
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- McClusky
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- McClusky is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClusky
- Fidelity
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Grafton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Otterville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Otterville is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otterville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Jerseyville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fieldon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Nutwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Nutwood is located in Jersey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutwood
- Macoupin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
- Brighton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Miles Station
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Miles Station is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miles Station
- Bunker Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Piasa
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Shipman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Royal Lakes
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Royal Lakes is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 185 people
- Royal Lakes has also been known as:
- Royal Lakes village
- Dorchester
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Dorchester is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Staunton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Wilsonville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Medora
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Benld
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Clare
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Clare is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Clare
- Population from the 2020 Census: 262 people
- Monroe County
- Columbia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Montgomery County
- Walshville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
- Fairmont City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Fairmont City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,439 people
- Brooklyn
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Brooklyn is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 687 people
- Caseyville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- National City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Washington Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Washington Park is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,831 people
- Bunkum
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Bunkum is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunkum
- East Saint Louis
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- French Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- French Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Village
- Alorton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Fairview Heights
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Sauget
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Cahokia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Saint Charles County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
- West Alton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Portage Des Sioux
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Gardnerville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Gardnerville is located in Saint Charles County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardnerville
- Saint Charles
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Harvester
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Saint Peters
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Saint Louis City (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
- Baden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Baden is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
- Saint Louis
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Cheltenham
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cheltenham is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheltenham
- Tower Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Tower Grove is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Grove
- University City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- 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
- Carondelet
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Carondelet is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carondelet
- Saint Louis County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
- Spanish Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Spanish Lake is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spanish Lake
- Glasgow Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Glasgow Village is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow Village
- Black Jack
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Black Jack is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Jack
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,921 people
- Riverview
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Riverview is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,821 people
- Bellefontaine Neighbors
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bellefontaine Neighbors is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefontaine Neighbors
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,297 people
- Castle Point
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Castle Point is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Point
- Moline Acres
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Moline Acres is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moline Acres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,339 people
- Dellwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Dellwood is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,994 people
- Ferguson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Ferguson is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,457 people
- Jennings
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jennings is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,644 people
- Calverton Park
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Calverton Park is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calverton Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,267 people
- Country Club Hills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Country Club Hills is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,245 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wood River, see our County-by-County Page for Wood River.
Cemeteries Near Wood River ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wood River.
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 Wood River - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wood River covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
- Woodlawn Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Vaughn Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Smith Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Springley Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Montgomery Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Milton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- East Alton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wanda Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sanders Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Preuitt Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pruett Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rose Lawn Memory Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Lawn Memory Gardens
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Rose Lawn Memory Gardens is a large cemetery that is located in Bethalto.
- The Rose Lawn Memory Gardens has also been known as:
- Della & Howard Gibson Cemetery
- Rose Lawn Memory Gardens / Della & Howard Gibson Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1968588 <2>
- Continue List (481 more) ...
- Bethalto UMC Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethalto UMC Cemetery
- The Bethalto UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Bethalto City Cemetery
- Bethalto Methodist Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #640641 <2>
- Alton State Hospital Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Short Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
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 Wood River in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wood River.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wood River, with the one closest to Wood River listed first.
- Wanda
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wanda is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wanda
- Bethalto
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Brooks
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Brooks is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
- Poag
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Poag is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poag
- Moro
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Upper Alton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Upper Alton is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Alton
- Alton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Mitchell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mitchell is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
- Edwardsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fosterburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Fosterburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosterburg
- North Alton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- North Alton is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Alton
- Spanish Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Spanish Lake is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spanish Lake
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Dorsey
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Nameoki
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Nameoki is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nameoki
- Stallings
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Stallings is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stallings
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wood River. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wood River.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Wood River ...
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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wood River.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Wood River. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Wood River and those printed in the larger area surrounding Wood River.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4> of Wood River.
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 Wood River:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Madison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bond County
- Calhoun County
- Clinton County
- Greene County
- Jersey County
- Macoupin County
- Monroe County
- Montgomery County
- Saint Clair County
- Saint Charles County
- Saint Louis City
- Saint Louis 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 Wood River, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Wood River) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |