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 Allen (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 Allen. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Allen is located in Allen 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 Allen County: Adams, DeKalb, Huntington, Noble, Wells, Whitley, Defiance (OH), Paulding (OH) & Van Wert (OH).
Below are the counties that are near Allen. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Allen:
- Allen County (The home county of Allen)
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Huntertown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wallen
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wallen is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallen
- Dunn Mill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dunn Mill is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn Mill
- Ari
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Ari is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ari
- Arcola
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Leo-Cedarville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Leo-Cedarville is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leo-Cedarville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,882 people
- Leo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Fort Wayne
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Indian Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Indian Village is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Hacienda Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hacienda Village is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hacienda Village
- Grabill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Anthony Wayne Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Magley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Magley is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magley
- Preble
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Decatur
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- New Era
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- New Era is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Era
- Altona
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Altona is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altona
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Garrett
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Auburn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Concord
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Concord is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Spencerville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Corunna
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Corunna is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Saint Joe
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Moore
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Moore is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore
- Waterloo
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Fairfield Center
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Fairfield Center is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Center
- Ashley
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Huntington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Roanoke
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Goblesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Goblesville is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goblesville
- Bowerstown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bowerstown is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowerstown
- Markle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Huntington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bippus
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bippus is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bippus
- Kosciusko County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Pierceton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- North Webster
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Sidney
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Sidney is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
- Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
- LaGrange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- South Milford
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- South Milford is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Milford
- Gravel Beach
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Gravel Beach is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Beach
- Wolcottville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Stroh
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Stroh is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroh
- Valentine
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- Topeka
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Brushy Prairie
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Brushy Prairie is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Prairie
- Noble County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Laotto
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Ege
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ege is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ege
- Avilla
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Green Center
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Green Center is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Center
- Merriam
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Merriam is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merriam
- Port Mitchell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Port Mitchell is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Mitchell
- Kendallville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Albion
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wakeville Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Wakeville Village is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakeville Village
- Wolf Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Wolf Lake is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
- Brimfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Brimfield is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
- Rome City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Steuben County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Hudson
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Hamilton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hamilton is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,595 people
- Russels Point
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Russels Point is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russels Point
- Wabash County
- Liberty Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Liberty Mills is located in Wabash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Mills
- Wells County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Zanesville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Ossian
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Tocsin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Tocsin is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tocsin
- Uniondale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Craigville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Craigville is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigville
- North Oaks
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- North Oaks is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Oaks
- Whitley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Churubusco
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Collins
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Collins is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Dunfee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dunfee is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunfee
- Tri-Lakes
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Tri-Lakes is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tri-Lakes
- Columbia City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Cresco
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Cresco is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cresco
- Lorane
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Lorane is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorane
- Ormas
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Ormas is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ormas
- Etna
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Etna is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Larwill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Larwill is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larwill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
- Luther
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Luther is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther
- South Whitley
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Defiance County (OH)
- Hicksville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Paulding County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Link ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Link is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Link
- Antwerp
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Payne
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Payne is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Payne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,132 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Payne <1>
- McGill ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- McGill is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGill
- Batson ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Batson is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batson
- Knoxdale ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Knoxdale is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knoxdale
- Worstville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Worstville is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worstville
- Cecil
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Cecil is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- New Rochester ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- New Rochester is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Rochester
- Tipton ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Tipton is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Van Wert County (OH)
- Dixon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Dixon is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
- Williams County (OH)
- Edgerton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Allen, see our County-by-County Page for Allen.
Cemeteries Near Allen ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Allen.
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 Allen - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Allen covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Bethel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Fairview Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Huntertown Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Watterson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Hatfield Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Highland Park Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Eel River Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Riverview Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Swan Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Fulk Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (233 more) ...
- Jeffries Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- St. Patricks Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lindenwood Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
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 Allen in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Allen.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Huntertown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wallen
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wallen is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallen
- Academie
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Academie is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Academie
- Ari
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Ari is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ari
- Laotto
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Churubusco
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- New Era
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- New Era is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Era
- Ege
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ege is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ege
- Arcola
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Johns
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Johns is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
- Swan
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Swan is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan
- Fort Wayne
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Cedarville ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Cedarville is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Leo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Collins
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Collins is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Allen. See our List of 1890's Communities around Allen.
Newspapers Published in Allen ...
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 179 newspapers that have been published in the area around Allen.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Allen, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Allen.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Allen:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Allen County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- DeKalb County
- Huntington County
- Kosciusko County
- LaGrange County
- Noble County
- Steuben County
- Wabash County
- Wells County
- Whitley County
- Defiance County
- Paulding County
- Van Wert County
- Williams 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 Allen, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Allen) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |