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 Bengal (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 Bengal. 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.
Bengal is located in Shelby 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 Shelby County: Bartholomew, Decatur, Hancock, Johnson, Marion & Rush.
Below are the counties that are near Bengal. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bengal:
- Shelby County (The home county of Bengal)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bengal, with the one closest to Bengal listed first.
- Mount Auburn
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mount Auburn is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Auburn
- Boggstown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Riley Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Riley Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riley Village
- Fairland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Beech Brook
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Beech Brook is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Brook
- Hildebrand Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hildebrand Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hildebrand Village
- Shelbyville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Flat Rock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Wilson Corner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Wilson Corner is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Corner
- Clover Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Clover Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Village
- Candleglo Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Candleglo Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Candleglo Village
- London
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- London is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for London
- Bartholomew County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bengal, with the one closest to Bengal listed first.
- Pleasant View Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Pleasant View Village is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View Village
- Taylorsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Clifford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Clifford is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
- Hope
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hope is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,248 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hope <1>
- Corn Brook
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Corn Brook is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corn Brook
- Rugby
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rugby is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
- Columbus
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Petersville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Petersville is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersville
- Hartsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Hartsville is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
- Newbern
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Newbern is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbern
- Jewell Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Jewell Village is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell Village
- Garden City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Garden City is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Brown County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bengal, with the one closest to Bengal listed first.
- Spearsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Spearsville is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spearsville
- Beanblossom
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Beanblossom is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beanblossom
- Beanblossom has also been known as:
- Bean Blossom
- Mount Liberty
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Liberty is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Liberty
- Gnaw Bone
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Helmsburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Helmsburg is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helmsburg
- Nashville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Pikes Peak
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pikes Peak is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikes Peak
- Becks Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Becks Grove is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Becks Grove
- Story
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Story is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Story
- Decatur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bengal, with the one closest to Bengal listed first.
- Germantown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Germantown is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germantown
- Saint Paul
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Saint Omer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Saint Omer is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Omer
- Burney
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Burney is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burney
- Milford
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Adams
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Adams is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
- Letts Corner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Letts Corner is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letts Corner
- Greensburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Alert
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Alert is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alert
- Harris City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Harris City is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris City
- Letts
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Letts is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letts
- Springhill ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Springhill is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springhill
- Hancock County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bengal, with the one closest to Bengal listed first.
- New Palestine
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Gem
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Gem is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gem
- Philadelphia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Philadelphia is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philadelphia
- Spring Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Spring Lake is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 231 people
- Greenfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Mohawk
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Mohawk is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohawk
- Maxwell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Maxwell is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Charlottesville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Charlottesville is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlottesville
- Denny Corner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Denny Corner is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denny Corner
- McCordsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Eden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Eden is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Willow Branch
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Willow Branch is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Branch
- Hendricks County
- Plainfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Henry County
- Knightstown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jennings County
- Scipio
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Scipio is located in Jennings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scipio
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bengal, with the one closest to Bengal listed first.
- Needham
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Urmeyville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Urmeyville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urmeyville
- Amity
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Amity is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amity
- Franklin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Edinburgh
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Rocklane
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rocklane is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocklane
- Whiteland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- New Whiteland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- New Whiteland is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Whiteland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,350 people
- Nineveh
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Greenwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Princes Lakes
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Princes Lakes is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princes Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,342 people
- Bargersville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Marion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bengal, with the one closest to Bengal listed first.
- Acton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Acton is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acton
- Charlesmac Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Charlesmac Village is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesmac Village
- Southport
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Homecroft
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Homecroft is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homecroft
- Population from the 2020 Census: 764 people
- Beech Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Warren Park
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Warren Park is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,574 people
- West Newton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- West Newton is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Newton
- Indianapolis
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Camby
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Lawrence
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Speedway
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bengal, with the one closest to Bengal listed first.
- Morgantown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Waverly
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Waverly is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
- Red House ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Red House is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red House
- Young
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Young is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Young
- Bethany
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Bethany is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
- Population from the 2020 Census: 88 people
- Brooklyn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Brookmoor
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Brookmoor is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookmoor
- Mahalasville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Mahalasville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahalasville
- Mooresville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Martinsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Taggart Crossing ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Taggart Crossing is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taggart Crossing
- Lake Hart
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Lake Hart is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Hart
- Rush County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bengal, with the one closest to Bengal listed first.
- Manilla
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Manilla is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manilla
- Gowdy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Gowdy is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowdy
- Homer
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Homer is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
- Moscow
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Moscow is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Arlington
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Milroy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Williamstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Williamstown is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- Henderson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Henderson is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson
- Carthage
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rushville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bengal, see our County-by-County Page for Bengal.
Cemeteries Near Bengal ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bengal.
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 Bengal - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bengal covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bengal, with the one closest to Bengal listed first.
- Smiley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Webb Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Miller Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Needham Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Brockman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Conover Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Eberhart Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wiles Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sandhill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Hamner Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Gallagher Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallagher Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Gallagher Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the northwest of Boggstown.
- The Gallagher Cemetery has also been known as:
- Old Boggstown Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #85098 <3>
- Youngs Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (377 more) ...
- Patterson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Parrish Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Center Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Bengal had a population of 43 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bengal, with the one closest to Bengal listed first.
- Marietta
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Marietta is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
- Smithland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Smithland is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithland
- Needham
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Urmeyville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Urmeyville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urmeyville
- Amity
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Amity is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amity
- Mount Auburn
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mount Auburn is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Auburn
- Fenns
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Fenns is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenns
- Boggstown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lewis Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lewis Creek is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis Creek
- Franklin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Edinburgh
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Flat Rock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (20 more) ...
- Shelbyville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Fairland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Rocklane
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rocklane is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocklane
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bengal. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bengal.
Newspapers Published in Bengal ...
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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bengal.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bengal, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bengal.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Bengal:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Shelby County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bartholomew County
- Brown County
- Decatur County
- Hancock County
- Hendricks County
- Henry County
- Jennings County
- Johnson County
- Marion County
- Morgan County
- Rush 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Bengal) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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> | 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 Bengal, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |