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 Purcell (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 Purcell. 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.
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 doctors and 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.
Purcell is located in Knox County.
To see how the shape of Indiana's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Knox County: Crawford (IL), Lawrence (IL), Wabash (IL), Davies's, Gibson, Greene, Pike & Sullivan.
Below are the counties that are near Purcell. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Purcell:
- Knox County (The home county of Purcell)
- The following are listed by their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
- Vincennes
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Verne
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Verne is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verne
- Decker
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Decker is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decker
- Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
- Beal
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Beal is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beal
- Fritchton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Fritchton is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fritchton
- Monroe City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Monroe City is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 526 people
- Willis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Willis is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willis
- Bruceville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wheatland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wheatland is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 469 people
- Ragsdale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ragsdale is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragsdale
- Bicknell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Busseron
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Busseron is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busseron
- Davies's County
- The following are listed by their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
- Sandy Hook
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Sandy Hook is located in Davies's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Hook
- Washington
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Graham
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Graham is located in Davies's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
- Capehart
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Capehart is located in Davies's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capehart
- Glendale
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Glendale is located in Davies's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Plainville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Plainville is located in Davies's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 500 people
- Montgomery
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Cannelburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Cannelburg is located in Davies's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannelburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 165 people
- Alfordsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Alfordsville is located in Davies's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alfordsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
- Elnora
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Elnora is located in Davies's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elnora
- Population from the 2020 Census: 676 people
- Dubois County
- The following are listed by their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
- Portersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Portersville is located in Dubois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portersville
- Ireland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gibson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
- Giro
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Giro is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giro
- Hazleton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Patoka
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Patoka is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patoka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 784 people
- Princeton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Douglas
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Douglas is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Francisco
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Francisco is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francisco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 558 people
- Dongola
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Dongola is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dongola
- Oakland City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Somerville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Fort Branch
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Mackey
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Mackey is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- Owensville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Pike County
- The following are listed by their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
- Union
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Union is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Oatsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Oatsville is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oatsville
- Petersburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Petersburg is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,299 people
- Alford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Alford is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alford
- Glezen
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Glezen is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glezen
- Algiers
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Algiers is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algiers
- Highbank Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Highbank Town is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highbank Town
- Oakland City Junction
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Winslow
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Whiteoak
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Whiteoak is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteoak
- Otwell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Otwell is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otwell
- Spurgeon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Spurgeon is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spurgeon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Posey County
- Cynthiana
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Sullivan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
- Carlisle
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- New Lebanon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Paxton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Paxton is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
- Vanderburgh County
- Stacer
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Stacer is located in Vanderburgh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stacer
- Warrick County
- The following are listed by their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
- Wheatonville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Wheatonville is located in Warrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatonville
- Lynnville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Elberfeld
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Crawford County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
- Oil Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Oil Grove is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil Grove
- Heathsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Heathsville is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heathsville
- Flat Rock
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Villas
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Villas is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villas
- Duncanville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Duncanville is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncanville
- Hardinville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hardinville is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardinville
- Landes
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Landes is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landes
- New Hebron
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- New Hebron is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hebron
- Palestine
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Gordon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Gordon is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Green Brier
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Green Brier is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Brier
- Oil Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Oil Center is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil Center
- Edwards County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
- Mills Prairie ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Mills Prairie is located in Edwards County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mills Prairie
- West Salem
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- West Salem is located in Edwards County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Salem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 844 people
- Bone Gap
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Browns
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lawrence County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
- Saint Francisville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Billett
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Billett is located in Lawrence County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billett
- Lawrenceville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Russellville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Bridgeport
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Petersburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Birds
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Helena
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Helena is located in Lawrence County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
- Sumner
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Richland County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
- Berryville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Berryville is located in Richland County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryville
- Amity
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Amity is located in Richland County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amity
- Claremont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Calhoun
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Parkersburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Wabash County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
- Allendale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Adams Corner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Adams Corner is located in Wabash County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams Corner
- Patton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Patton is located in Wabash County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patton
- Orio
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Orio is located in Wabash County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orio
- Mount Carmel
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Lancaster
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Lancaster is located in Wabash County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster
- Bellmont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Keensburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Purcell, see our County-by-County Page for Purcell.
Cemeteries Near Purcell ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Purcell.
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 Purcell - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Purcell covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
- St. Peters Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- West Salem Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Chimney Pier Hills Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Slow Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Highland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Memorial Park Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memorial Park Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Memorial Park Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Vincennes.
- The Memorial Park Cemetery has also been known as:
- Memorial Park
- Mullen School Cemetery
- Vincennes City Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #85892 <2>
- Johnson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hartley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- B'nai Israel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Fairview Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Fairview Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Vincennes.
- The Fairview Cemetery has also been known as:
- Vincennes City Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #84976 <2>
- Greenlawn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Vincennes.
- The Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #85990 <2>
- Continue List (386 more) ...
- Dick Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Beedell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Meyer Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Purcell had a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
- Iona
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Iona is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iona
- Vincennes
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Decker
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Decker is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decker
- Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
- Beal
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Beal is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beal
- Saint Francisville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Billett
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Billett is located in Lawrence County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billett
- Monroe City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Monroe City is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 526 people
- Union
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Union is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Allendale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bowman
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bowman is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowman
- Pond Creek Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Pond Creek Mills is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond Creek Mills
- Wheatland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wheatland is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 469 people
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Bruceville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lawrenceville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Patoka
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Patoka is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patoka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 784 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Purcell. See our List of 1890's Communities around Purcell.
Newspapers Published in Purcell ...
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 102 newspapers that have been published in the area around Purcell.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Purcell, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Purcell.
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 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 Purcell:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Knox County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Davies's County
- Dubois County
- Gibson County
- Pike County
- Posey County
- Sullivan County
- Vanderburgh County
- Warrick County
- Crawford County
- Edwards County
- Lawrence County
- Richland County
- Wabash County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Indiana
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 Purcell, 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- Purcell) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |