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 Beatys Beach (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 Beatys Beach. 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.
Name Variations for Beatys Beach ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Beatys Beach: Beatys Bch.
- While the name of this community is Beatys Beach, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Beatys Beach may originally have been Beaty's Beach.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Beatys Beach might be written as Beaty Beach.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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.
Beatys Beach is located in LaGrange 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 LaGrange County: Elkhart, Noble, Steuben, Branch (MI) & Saint Joseph (MI).
Below are the counties that are near Beatys Beach. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Beatys Beach:
- LaGrange County (The home county of Beatys Beach)
- The following are listed by their distance from Beatys Beach, with the one closest to Beatys Beach listed first.
- Shipshewana
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Seyberts
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Seyberts is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyberts
- Scott
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Scott is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott
- Howe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- LaGrange
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Topeka
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Valentine
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- Plato
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Plato is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato
- Brighton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Brighton is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Mongo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Wolcottville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brushy Prairie
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Brushy Prairie is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Prairie
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Beatys Beach, with the one closest to Beatys Beach listed first.
- Fairfield Center
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fairfield Center is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Center
- Corunna
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Corunna is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Ashley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Elkhart County
- The following are listed by their distance from Beatys Beach, with the one closest to Beatys Beach listed first.
- Middlebury
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Millersburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bristol
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Goshen
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Benton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Benton is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Bainter Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bainter Town is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainter Town
- Dunlap
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Dunlap is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap
- Garden Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Garden Village is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Village
- New Paris
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Elkhart
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Simonton Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Simonton Lake is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simonton Lake
- Foraker
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Foraker is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foraker
- Kosciusko County
- The following are listed by their distance from Beatys Beach, with the one closest to Beatys Beach listed first.
- Syracuse
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Wawasee Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Wawasee Village is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wawasee Village
- Milford Junction
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Milford Junction is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford Junction
- Milford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Milford is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,551 people
- North Webster
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Leesburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Arrowhead Park
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Arrowhead Park is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowhead Park
- Clunette
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Clunette is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clunette
- Noble County
- The following are listed by their distance from Beatys Beach, with the one closest to Beatys Beach listed first.
- Ligonier
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Cosperville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cosperville is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosperville
- Wawaka
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rome City
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Cromwell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Brimfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Brimfield is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
- Kimmell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Albion
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Indian Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Indian Village is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Port Mitchell
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Port Mitchell is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Mitchell
- Wakeville Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Wakeville Village is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakeville Village
- Kendallville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Joseph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Beatys Beach, with the one closest to Beatys Beach listed first.
- Osceola
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Granger
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Mishawaka
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Steuben County
- The following are listed by their distance from Beatys Beach, with the one closest to Beatys Beach listed first.
- Orland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Hudson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Jamestown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Jamestown is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Whitley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Beatys Beach, with the one closest to Beatys Beach listed first.
- Ormas
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Ormas is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ormas
- Etna
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Etna is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Branch County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Beatys Beach, with the one closest to Beatys Beach listed first.
- Gilead
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Gilead is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Bronson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hatmaker
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hatmaker is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- Matteson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Matteson is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matteson
- Sherwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sherwood is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
- Batavia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Batavia is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Cass County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Beatys Beach, with the one closest to Beatys Beach listed first.
- Union
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Corey
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Corey is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corey
- Jones
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Brownsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Brownsville is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Vandalia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Vandalia is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Penn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Penn is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn
- Wakelee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Wakelee is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakelee
- Edwardsburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Cassopolis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Marcellus
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- La Grange
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- La Grange is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Grange
- Kalamazoo County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Beatys Beach, with the one closest to Beatys Beach listed first.
- Schoolcraft
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Vicksburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Saint Joseph County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Beatys Beach, with the one closest to Beatys Beach listed first.
- Oakwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Oakwood is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- White Pigeon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Klingers
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Klingers is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klingers
- Bluff Beach
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Bluff Beach is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Beach
- Constantine
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Mottville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mottville is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mottville
- Sturgis
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- 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 <2>
- Fawn River
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fawn River is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn River
- Centreville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Centreville is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,400 people
- Fabius
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Fabius is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fabius
- Burr Oak
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Findley
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Findley is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Findley
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Beatys Beach, see our County-by-County Page for Beatys Beach.
Cemeteries Near Beatys Beach ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Beatys Beach.
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 Beatys Beach - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Beatys Beach covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Beatys Beach, with the one closest to Beatys Beach listed first.
- Bontrager Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Keightley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Pashan Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Lupold Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- New Pennsylvania Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bethel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Miller Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mack Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bontrager Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sidener Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Grace Lawn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Forest Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (303 more) ...
- Eldridge Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Townline Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townline Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Townline Cemetery is located 6 miles [9.7 km]<4> to the northwest of Topeka.
- The Townline Cemetery has also been known as:
- Townline Mennonite Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #87173 <3>
- Barton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
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.<5>
While we didn't find Beatys Beach in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Beatys Beach.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Beatys Beach, with the one closest to Beatys Beach listed first.
- Shipshewana
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Seyberts
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Seyberts is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyberts
- Scott
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Scott is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott
- Emma
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Emma is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emma
- Middlebury
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Vistula
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Vistula is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vistula
- White Pigeon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- LaGrange
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Constantine
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Ontario
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Ontario is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
- Mottville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mottville is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mottville
- Bristol
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Valentine
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- Sturgis
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- 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 <2>
- Goshen
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Beatys Beach. See our List of 1890's Communities around Beatys Beach.
Newspapers Published in Beatys Beach ...
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 86 newspapers that have been published in the area around Beatys Beach.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Beatys Beach, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Beatys Beach.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Beatys Beach:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to LaGrange County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- DeKalb County
- Elkhart County
- Kosciusko County
- Noble County
- Saint Joseph County
- Steuben County
- Whitley County
- Branch County
- Cass County
- Kalamazoo County
- Saint Joseph County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Indiana
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Beatys Beach) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <5> | 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 Beatys Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |