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 Birmingham (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 Birmingham. 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 northwest 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 north.
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 north 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.
Birmingham is located in Miami 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 Miami County: Cass, Fulton, Grant, Howard & Wabash.
Below are the counties that are near Birmingham. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Birmingham:
- Miami County (The home county of Birmingham)
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Macy
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Deedsville
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Deedsville is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deedsville
- Gilead
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Gilead is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Denver
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mexico
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Pettysville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pettysville is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettysville
- Oakdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Oakdale is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
- Peru
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Bunker Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Loree
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Loree is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loree
- Santa Fe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Santa Fe is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Fe
- Miami
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Deer Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Deer Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Creek
- Burrows
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Burrows is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrows
- Cass County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Twelve Mile
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Twelve Mile is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twelve Mile
- Hoover
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hoover is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover
- New Waverly
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- New Waverly is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Waverly
- Leases Corner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Leases Corner is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leases Corner
- Verona
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Verona is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona
- Lucerne
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Lucerne is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucerne
- Onward
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Onward is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onward
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Logansport
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Dunkirk
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dunkirk is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkirk
- Walton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Royal Center
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Clymers
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Clymers is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clymers
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Athens
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Athens is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
- Akron
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Fulton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Disko
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Disko is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Disko
- Rochester
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Grass Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Grass Creek is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grass Creek
- Kewanna
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Kewanna is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kewanna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 598 people
- Leiters Ford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Leiters Ford is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leiters Ford
- Lake Bruce
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Bruce is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Bruce
- Delong
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Delong is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delong
- Grant County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Jalapa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jalapa is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jalapa
- Mier
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mier is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mier
- Howard County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Cassville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Cassville is located in Howard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassville
- Plevna
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Plevna is located in Howard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plevna
- Vermont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Vermont is located in Howard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermont
- Huntington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Bippus
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Bippus is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bippus
- Andrews
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Harlansburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Harlansburg is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlansburg
- Monument City ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Monument City is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monument City
- Banquo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Banquo is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banquo
- Kosciusko County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Beaver Dam
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Beaver Dam is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Dam
- Sevastopol
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Sevastopol is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sevastopol
- Silver Lake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mentone
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Burket
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Burket is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burket
- Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
- Claypool
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sidney
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sidney is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
- Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
- Atwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Atwood is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwood
- Etna Green
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Winona Lake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Pierceton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Arrowhead Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Arrowhead Park is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowhead Park
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Tippecanoe
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Old Tip Town
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Old Tip Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Tip Town
- Argos
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Bourbon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Culver
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Culver is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,484 people
- Burr Oak
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Burr Oak is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr Oak
- Plymouth
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Thornhope
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Thornhope is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornhope
- Former names for Thornhope:
- Parisville
- Rosedale
- Thornhope has also been known as:
- Oak
- Star City
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Lawton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Lawton is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
- Monterey
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Monterey is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
- Winamac
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Beardstown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Beardstown is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beardstown
- Starke County
- Ora
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ora is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
- Wabash County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Stockdale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Stockdale is located in Wabash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockdale
- Roann
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Laketon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Richvalley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Richvalley is located in Wabash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richvalley
- Urbana
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Wabash
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- North Manchester
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Servia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Servia is located in Wabash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Servia
- Liberty Mills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Liberty Mills is located in Wabash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Mills
- Lagro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Treaty
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Treaty is located in Wabash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Treaty
- Somerset
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Somerset is located in Wabash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset
- White County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Burnettsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Burnettsville is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnettsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 339 people
- Headlee
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Headlee is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headlee
- Idaville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Idaville is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idaville
- Whitley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Collamer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Collamer is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collamer
- South Whitley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Luther
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Luther is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther
- Larwill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Larwill is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larwill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Birmingham, see our County-by-County Page for Birmingham.
Cemeteries Near Birmingham ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Birmingham.
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 Birmingham - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Birmingham covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- IOOF Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Yike Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Tilden Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Plainview Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Five Corners Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Macedonia Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Musselman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Westlawn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Dunkard Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Courter Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (244 more) ...
- Shoemaker Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Enterprise Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Old Shelton Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Birmingham had a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Deedsville
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Deedsville is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deedsville
- Macy
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Perrysburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Perrysburg is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrysburg
- Wagoner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wagoner is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagoner
- Gilead
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Gilead is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Green Oak
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Green Oak is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Oak
- Chili
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Chili is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chili
- Twelve Mile
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Twelve Mile is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twelve Mile
- Mexico
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Courter
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Courter is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Courter
- Pettysville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pettysville is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettysville
- Akron
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Fulton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Roann
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Disko
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Disko is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Disko
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Birmingham. See our List of 1890's Communities around Birmingham.
Newspapers Published in Birmingham ...
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 163 newspapers that have been published in the area around Birmingham.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Birmingham, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Birmingham.
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 Birmingham:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Miami County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carroll County
- Cass County
- Fulton County
- Grant County
- Howard County
- Huntington County
- Kosciusko County
- Marshall County
- Pulaski County
- Starke County
- Wabash County
- White County
- Whitley 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 Birmingham, 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- Birmingham) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |