The names of some locations may be informal and only exist in the minds of local residents. Official location names may be used in legal and other documents, but newspapers (particularly “gossip columns”), family letters and less formal materials may refer to places by names used by the locals.
I know where the Habben Corner was and where the Meadow Slough south of Carthage, Illinois, approximately is, but these location names won’t appear in any gazetteer or geographic directory. Local libraries, historical/genealogical societies, or “old timers” may know the places to which these unofficial names refer.
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My parents both grew up in Riverside, NJ. Swampoodle and the Avenues were just 2 sections!
So true! We are constantly updating our list of colloquial names found in old newspapers–Smoke Hollow, Scratch Hill, etc. The challenge is figuring out where they were!
Locating them can be a problem. Finding out the name isn’t usually the problem–it’s getting a relatively precise location.
My grandfather died in Carrs Corners, according the the state index. When I came across another relative who also died there, I decided to Google it. I found it on an 1889 map. Turns out it is an intersection of 5 roads and it is right next to the cemetery where I knew my grandfather was buried. He didn’t die there, though.
Searching contemporary newspapers is another way to try and pinpoint these locations, but Google searches find quite a few.