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 Hillsboro (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 Hillsboro. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.
Hillsboro is located in Jefferson County and is the County Seat.
To see how the shape of Missouri's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Jefferson County: Monroe (IL), Franklin, Saint Francois, Saint Louis, Sainte Genevieve & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near Hillsboro. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hillsboro:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Hillsboro)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Mapaville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mapaville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapaville
- Morse Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Morse Mill is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse Mill
- Hematite
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Hematite is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hematite
- Ware
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Ware is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
- De Soto
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Horine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Horine is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horine
- Festus
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Cedar Hill Lakes
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Hill Lakes is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 227 people
- Crystal City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Herculaneum
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Cedar Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dittmer
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Hemker
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Hemker is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemker
- Luebbering
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Luebbering is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luebbering
- Lonedell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Lonedell is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lonedell
- Hensley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Hensley is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hensley
- Catawissa
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Huff
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Huff is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huff
- Robertsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Pacific
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Pacific is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,097 people
- Former name for Pacific:
- Franklin
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pacific <1>
- Moselle
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Moselle is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moselle
- Gray Summit
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Parkway
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Parkway is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 511 people
- Saint Clair
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Saint Charles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Augusta
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Defiance
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Francois County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Blackwell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Blackwell is located in Saint Francois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwell
- Silver Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Silver Springs is located in Saint Francois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Springs
- Settletown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Settletown is located in Saint Francois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Settletown
- French Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bonne Terre
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Cantwell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Cantwell is located in Saint Francois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cantwell
- Desloge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Leadwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Esther
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Esther is located in Saint Francois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esther
- Flat River
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Flat River is located in Saint Francois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat River
- Rivermines
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Rivermines is located in Saint Francois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivermines
- Elvins
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Elvins is located in Saint Francois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elvins
- Saint Louis City
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Carondelet
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Carondelet is located in Saint Louis City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carondelet
- Cheltenham
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cheltenham is located in Saint Louis City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheltenham
- Saint Louis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Eureka
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Allenton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Allenton is located in Saint Louis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenton
- Crescent
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Crescent is located in Saint Louis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
- Fenton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Ranken
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Ranken is located in Saint Louis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ranken
- Mattese
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mattese is located in Saint Louis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattese
- Glencoe
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Peerless Park
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Peerless Park is located in Saint Louis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peerless Park
- Yeatman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Yeatman is located in Saint Louis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yeatman
- Oakville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Oakville is located in Saint Louis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Hollow
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Hollow is located in Saint Louis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollow
- Concord
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Concord is located in Saint Louis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Sainte Genevieve County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Kinsey
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kinsey is located in Sainte Genevieve County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinsey
- Brickeys
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Brickeys is located in Sainte Genevieve County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickeys
- Former names for Brickeys:
- Brickeys Gristmill
- Brickeys Landing
- Needmore
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Needmore is located in Sainte Genevieve County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
- Lawrenceton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Lawrenceton is located in Sainte Genevieve County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceton
- Bloomsdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Clement ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Clement is located in Sainte Genevieve County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clement
- Rocky Ridge Ranch
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rocky Ridge Ranch is located in Sainte Genevieve County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge Ranch
- Rocky Ridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rocky Ridge is located in Sainte Genevieve County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge
- Sprott
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sprott is located in Sainte Genevieve County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sprott
- New Offenburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- New Offenburg is located in Sainte Genevieve County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Offenburg
- Weingarten
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Weingarten is located in Sainte Genevieve County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weingarten
- Zell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Zell is located in Sainte Genevieve County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zell
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Tiff
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Tiff is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiff
- Richwoods
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Richwoods is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richwoods
- Theabeau Town
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Theabeau Town is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Theabeau Town
- Mud Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mud Town is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mud Town
- Cadet
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Old Mines
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Old Mines is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Mines
- French Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- French Town is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Town
- Aptus
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Aptus is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aptus
- Mineral Point
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mineral Point is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
- Fourche a Renault ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fourche a Renault is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fourche a Renault
- Summit
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Summit is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Potosi
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Monroe County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Mitchie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Mitchie is located in Monroe County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchie
- Chalfin Bridge
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Chalfin Bridge is located in Monroe County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalfin Bridge
- Monroe City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Monroe City is located in Monroe County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe City
- Valmeyer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Madonnaville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Madonnaville is located in Monroe County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madonnaville
- Maeystown
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Foster Pond ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Foster Pond is located in Monroe County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Pond
- Fults
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Wartburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Wartburg is located in Monroe County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartburg
- Burksville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Burksville is located in Monroe County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville
- Waterloo
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Burksville Station
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Burksville Station is located in Monroe County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville Station
- Randolph County (IL)
- Prairie du Rocher
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Prairie du Rocher is located in Randolph County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie du Rocher
- Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
- Prairie du Rocher has also been known as:
- Prairie du Rocher village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prairie du Rocher <1>
- Saint Clair County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Dupo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Dupo is located in Saint Clair County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,845 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dupo <1>
- East Carondelet
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Falling Spring
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Falling Spring is located in Saint Clair County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Spring
- Millstadt
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cahokia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cahokia is located in Saint Clair County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cahokia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,742 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cahokia <1>
- Imbs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Imbs is located in Saint Clair County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imbs
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hillsboro, see our County-by-County Page for Hillsboro.
Cemeteries Near Hillsboro ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hillsboro.
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 Hillsboro - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hillsboro covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Good Shepherd Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Hillsboro Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Victoria Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Zion UMC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mahlers Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Calvary Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Woodlawn Memorial Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Sunnyside Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Baker Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- McCain Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (328 more) ...
- Oakland Mammoth Baptist Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Joachim Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Hope UCC Ebenezer Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
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 Hillsboro had a population of 264 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Hillsboro had a population of 3,355 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Belews Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Belews Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belews Creek
- Victoria
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Victoria is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
- Jarvis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jarvis is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarvis
- Ware
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Ware is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
- Hematite
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Hematite is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hematite
- Morse Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Morse Mill is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse Mill
- Regina
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Regina is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regina
- De Soto
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Silica
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Silica is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silica
- Frumet
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Frumet is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frumet
- Festus
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Local
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Local is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Local
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Crystal City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Cedar Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Herculaneum
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hillsboro. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hillsboro.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Hillsboro ...
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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hillsboro.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Hillsboro. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Hillsboro and those printed in the larger area surrounding Hillsboro.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4> of Hillsboro.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Hillsboro:
- Websites specific to Missouri
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Saint Charles County
- Saint Francois County
- Saint Louis City
- Saint Louis County
- Sainte Genevieve County
- Washington County
- Monroe County
- Randolph County
- Saint Clair County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Missouri
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 Hillsboro, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Hillsboro) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |