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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 Bedford (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 Bedford. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.

Bedford is located in Lawrence County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of Indiana's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Lawrence County: Greene, Jackson, Martin, Monroe, Orange & Washington.

Below are the counties that are near Bedford. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bedford:

  • Lawrence County     (The home county of Bedford)
  • Brown County
  • Davies's County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bedford, with the one closest to Bedford listed first.
    • Odon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Odon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odon
      • Odon is located in Davies's County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,390 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Odon <1>
    • Cannelburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Dubois County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bedford, with the one closest to Bedford listed first.
    • Hillham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Norton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bedford, with the one closest to Bedford listed first.
    • Owensburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Koleen
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Koleen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koleen
      • Koleen is located in Greene County
    • Solsberry
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hendricksville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Mineral City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineral City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral City
      • Mineral City is located in Greene County
    • Scotland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Newark
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Bloomfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Tulip
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tulip. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulip
      • Tulip is located in Greene County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tulip
      • From Bedford to Tulip
    • Plummer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Plummer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plummer
      • Plummer is located in Greene County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Plummer
      • From Bedford to Plummer
    • Calvertville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Elliston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Jackson County
  • Martin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bedford, with the one closest to Bedford listed first.
    • Mount Olive
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mount Olive. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
      • Mount Olive is located in Martin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mount Olive
      • From Bedford to Mount Olive
    • Shoals
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shoals have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoals
      • Shoals is located in Martin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 781 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shoals <1>
    • Burns City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burns City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns City
      • Burns City is located in Martin County
    • Lacy
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Crane
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crane have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crane
      • Crane is located in Martin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crane <1>
    • Windom
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Loogootee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bedford, with the one closest to Bedford listed first.
    • Harrodsburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrodsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrodsburg
      • Harrodsburg is located in Monroe County
    • Smithville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Kirksville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kirksville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirksville
      • Kirksville is located in Monroe County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kirksville
      • From Bedford to Kirksville
    • Clear Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clear Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Creek
      • Clear Creek is located in Monroe County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clear Creek
      • From Bedford to Clear Creek
    • Stanford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Bloomington
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Highland Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Highland Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Village
      • Highland Village is located in Monroe County
    • Unionville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Unionville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
      • Unionville is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Unionville <1>
    • Dolan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Ellettsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellettsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellettsville
      • Ellettsville is located in Monroe County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,706 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ellettsville <1>
  • Orange County
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bedford, with the one closest to Bedford listed first.
    • Saltillo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saltillo have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saltillo
      • Saltillo is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
    • Campbellsburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Claysville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Claysville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claysville
      • Claysville is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Claysville
      • From Bedford to Claysville
    • Smedley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Smedley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smedley
      • Smedley is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Smedley
      • From Bedford to Smedley
    • Kossuth
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kossuth. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kossuth
      • Kossuth is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kossuth
      • From Bedford to Kossuth
    • Plattsburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Livonia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Livonia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livonia
      • Livonia is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
    • Salem
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Hardinsburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Harristown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Harristown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harristown
      • Harristown is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Harristown
      • From Bedford to Harristown

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bedford, see our County-by-County Page for Bedford.

Cemeteries Near Bedford ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bedford.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bedford covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bedford, with the one closest to Bedford listed first.

  • Beech Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Green Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Breckinridge Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Breckinridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Breckinridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Scoggan Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Scoggan Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Scoggan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ikerd Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Crest Haven Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Crest Haven Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Crest Haven Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Red Cross Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Red Cross Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Red Cross Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hopkins Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hopkins Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hopkins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Crawford Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Crawford Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Crawford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Union Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Union Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Union Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Knott Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Knott Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Knott Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sheeks Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sheeks Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sheeks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (338 more) ...
    • Carlton Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carlton Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Carlton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Starr Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Starr Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Starr Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Bailey Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bailey Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bailey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Bedford had a population of 3,351 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Bedford had a population of 13,233 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Bedford, with the one closest to Bedford listed first.

  • Dark Hollow
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dark Hollow have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dark Hollow
    • Dark Hollow is located in Lawrence County
  • Coxton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Shawswick
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shawswick have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawswick
    • Shawswick is located in Lawrence County
  • Logan
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Logan have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan
    • Logan is located in Lawrence County
  • Yockey
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yockey have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yockey
    • Yockey is located in Lawrence County
  • Fayetteville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fayetteville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
    • Fayetteville is located in Lawrence County
  • Erie
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Erie. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
    • Erie is located in Lawrence County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Erie
    • From Bedford to Erie
  • Bryantsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bryantsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryantsville
    • Bryantsville is located in Lawrence County
  • Heltonville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Bartlettsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bartlettsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlettsville
    • Bartlettsville is located in Lawrence County
  • Mitchell
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Springville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Guthrie
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Williams
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williams have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams
      • Williams is located in Lawrence County
    • Silverville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bedford. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bedford.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bedford ...

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 141 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bedford.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Bedford. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Bedford and those printed in the larger area surrounding Bedford.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<6> of Bedford.

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 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 Bedford:

The official website for Bedford: www.bedford.in.us/

The official website for State of Indiana: https://www.in.gov

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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>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.
<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 Bedford, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Bedford) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bedford. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.8610, Longitude: -86.4887    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025