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 Ashley (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 Ashley. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.
Ashley is primarily located in DeKalb County. A portion of Ashley extends into Steuben 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 DeKalb County: Allen, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Defiance (OH) & Williams (OH).
Below are the counties that are near Ashley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ashley:
- DeKalb County (The home county of Ashley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Fairfield Center
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fairfield Center is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Center
- Waterloo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Corunna
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Corunna is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Auburn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Moore
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Moore is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore
- Butler
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Altona
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Altona is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altona
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Garrett
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Concord
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Concord is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- New Era
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- New Era is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Era
- Saint Joe
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Spencerville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Allen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Huntertown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Leo-Cedarville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Leo-Cedarville is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leo-Cedarville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,882 people
- Leo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Ari
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ari is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ari
- Grabill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Harlan
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Wallen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Wallen is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallen
- Dunn Mill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Dunn Mill is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn Mill
- Hacienda Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hacienda Village is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hacienda Village
- Woodburn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Fort Wayne
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- LaGrange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Stroh
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Stroh is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroh
- Gravel Beach
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Gravel Beach is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Beach
- South Milford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- South Milford is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Milford
- Brushy Prairie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Brushy Prairie is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Prairie
- Mongo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Wolcottville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Plato
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Plato is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato
- Valentine
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- Brighton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Brighton is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Greenfield Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- LaGrange
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Howe
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Noble County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Wakeville Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Wakeville Village is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakeville Village
- Kendallville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Avilla
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Rome City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Laotto
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Brimfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Brimfield is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
- Ege
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Ege is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ege
- Albion
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Green Center
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Green Center is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Center
- Cosperville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Cosperville is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosperville
- Port Mitchell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Port Mitchell is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Mitchell
- Wawaka
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Steuben County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Hudson
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Pleasant Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Hamilton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Hamilton is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,595 people
- Russels Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Russels Point is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russels Point
- Angola
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Alvarado
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Alvarado is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- Orland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Jamestown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Jamestown is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Fremont
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- York
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- York is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Clear Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Clear Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Ray
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Ray is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Whitley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Churubusco
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Collins
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Collins is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Tri-Lakes
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Tri-Lakes is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tri-Lakes
- Cresco
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cresco is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cresco
- Ormas
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ormas is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ormas
- Branch County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Gilead
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Gilead is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Ray
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Canada Shores
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Canada Shores is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Shores
- Hatmaker
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Hatmaker is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- Bronson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Fisher
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Fisher is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
- Batavia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Batavia is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Coldwater
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Matteson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Matteson is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matteson
- Trailtree Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Trailtree Village is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailtree Village
- Quincy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Hillsdale County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Camden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Montgomery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Montgomery is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
- Reading
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Frontier
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Frontier is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frontier
- Saint Joseph County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Fawn River
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Fawn River is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn River
- Burr Oak
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sturgis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sturgis is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,803 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sturgis <1>
- Findley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Findley is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Findley
- Klingers
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Klingers is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klingers
- Defiance County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Hicksville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ney
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Ney is located in Defiance County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ney
- Population from the 2020 Census: 337 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ney <1>
- Sherwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Paulding County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Link ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Link is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Link
- Antwerp
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Knoxdale ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Knoxdale is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knoxdale
- Williams County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Edon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Edon is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 807 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edon <1>
- Columbia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Columbia is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia
- Blakeslee
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Denmark ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Denmark is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Edgerton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Cooney
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Cooney is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooney
- Northwest
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Northwest is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwest
- Melbern
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Melbern is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbern
- Ainger
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ainger is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ainger
- Montpelier
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Jim Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Jim Town is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jim Town
- Bryan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Bryan is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,212 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bryan <1>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ashley, see our County-by-County Page for Ashley.
Cemeteries Near Ashley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ashley.
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 Ashley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ashley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Barkers Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Circle Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- County Line Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Fairfield Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Lake Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Lake Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hessen Cassel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hessen Cassel Cemetery
- The Hessen Cassel Cemetery has also been known as:
- Rice Cemetery
- Trinity Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Carter Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Hollister Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Matson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (296 more) ...
- Sedan Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Waterloo Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Lutz Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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>
While we didn't find Ashley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ashley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Hudson
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Summit
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Summit is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Fairfield Center
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fairfield Center is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Center
- Pleasant Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Salem Center
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Salem Center is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem Center
- Sedan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Sedan is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedan
- Waterloo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Turkey Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Turkey Creek is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Creek
- Corunna
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Corunna is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Hamilton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Hamilton is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,595 people
- Flint
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Flint is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
- Angola
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Auburn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Moore
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Moore is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore
- Ellis
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ellis is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ashley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ashley.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ashley ...
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 101 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ashley.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ashley. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ashley and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ashley.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4> of Ashley.
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 websites either 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 Ashley:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to DeKalb County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allen County
- LaGrange County
- Noble County
- Steuben County
- Whitley County
- Branch County
- Hillsdale County
- Saint Joseph County
- Defiance County
- Paulding 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 Ashley, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ashley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |