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 Buffington (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 Buffington. 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 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.
Buffington is located in Lake 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 Lake County: Cook (IL), Kankakee (IL), Will (IL), Jasper, Newton & Porter.
Below are the counties that are near Buffington. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Buffington:
- Lake County (The home county of Buffington)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buffington, with the one closest to Buffington listed first.
- East Chicago
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Hessville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hessville is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hessville
- Whiting
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gary
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Highland
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Hammond
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Griffith
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Munster
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Duneland Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Duneland Village is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duneland Village
- Ross
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Ross is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
- Liverpool
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Liverpool is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liverpool
- Duneland Village of Gary
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- LaPorte County
- The following are listed by their distance from Buffington, with the one closest to Buffington listed first.
- Otis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Otis is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otis
- Michigan City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Westville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Alida
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Alida is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alida
- Holmesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Holmesville is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmesville
- Haskell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Haskell is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haskell
- Pottawattamie Park
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Pottawattamie Park is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottawattamie Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
- Trail Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Trail Creek is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trail Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,985 people
- Long Beach
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Waterford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Waterford is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
- Porter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Buffington, with the one closest to Buffington listed first.
- Ogden Dunes
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Ogden Dunes is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden Dunes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,083 people
- Woodland Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Woodland Village is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
- Portage
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Willow Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Willow Creek is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Creek
- Burns Harbor
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Wheeler
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Wheeler is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
- Dune Acres
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Dune Acres is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dune Acres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
- South Haven
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- South Haven is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Haven
- Babcock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Babcock is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babcock
- Chesterton
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Porter
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Porter Crossroads
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Porter Crossroads is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter Crossroads
- Cook County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buffington, with the one closest to Buffington listed first.
- Burnham
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Burnham is located in Cook County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,040 people
- Calumet City
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hegewisch
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Hegewisch is located in Cook County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hegewisch
- East Side
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- East Side is located in Cook County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Side
- Lansing
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Globe
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Globe is located in Cook County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
- Dolton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- South Chicago
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- South Chicago is located in Cook County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Chicago
- Stony Island
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Stony Island is located in Cook County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Island
- Lynwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- South Holland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Burnside
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Burnside is located in Cook County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
- DuPage County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buffington, with the one closest to Buffington listed first.
- Hinsdale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Tedens ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Tedens is located in DuPage County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tedens
- Willowbrook
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Clarendon Hills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Darien
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Oak Brook
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Westmont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Kankakee County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buffington, with the one closest to Buffington listed first.
- Sherburnville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Sherburnville is located in Kankakee County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherburnville
- Grant Park
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Grant Park is located in Kankakee County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,231 people
- Will County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buffington, with the one closest to Buffington listed first.
- Willowbrook
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Steger
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Crete
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- University Park
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Goodenow
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Goodenow is located in Will County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodenow
- Frankfort Square
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Frankfort Square is located in Will County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankfort Square
- Beecher
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Monee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Frankfort
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Mokena
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Goodings Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Goodings Grove is located in Will County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodings Grove
- Homer Glen
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Homer Glen is located in Will County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer Glen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24,281 people
- Homer Glen has also been known as:
- Homer Glen village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Homer Glen <1>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Buffington, see our County-by-County Page for Buffington.
Cemeteries Near Buffington ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Buffington.
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 Buffington - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Buffington covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Buffington, with the one closest to Buffington listed first.
- St. Marys Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hess Memorial Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hess Memorial Cemetery
- The Hess Memorial Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hessville Cemetery
- Lake County Cemetery
- North Twp. Cemetery
- Paupers Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2160949 <2>
- Elmwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. Michaels Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Concordia Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Hope Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Tolleston Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Waldheim Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Mt. Mercy Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Mercy Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Mercy Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Gary.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #86023 <2>
- Continue List (252 more) ...
- St. Mary's Russian Orthodox Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Mary's Russian Orthodox Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Mary's Russian Orthodox Church Cemetery is located in Gary.
- The St. Mary's Russian Orthodox Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Marys Cemetery
- Ridgelawn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgelawn Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Ridgelawn Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Gary.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #86566 <2>
- Oakland Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
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 Buffington in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Buffington.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Buffington, with the one closest to Buffington listed first.
- Pine
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Pine is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine
- East Chicago
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Gibson
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Gibson is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson
- Ivanhoe
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Ivanhoe is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
- Hessville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hessville is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hessville
- Whiting
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Calumet City
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hammond
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Highland
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Burnham
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Burnham is located in Cook County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,040 people
- Hegewisch
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Hegewisch is located in Cook County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hegewisch
- Globe
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Globe is located in Cook County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Bernice
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bernice is located in Cook County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bernice
- Lansing
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Maynard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Maynard is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maynard
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Buffington. See our List of 1890's Communities around Buffington.
Newspapers Published in Buffington ...
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 155 newspapers that have been published in the area around Buffington.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Buffington, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Buffington.
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 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 Buffington:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Lake County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- LaPorte County
- Porter County
- Cook County
- DuPage County
- Kankakee County
- Will 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 Buffington, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Buffington) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |