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 Clear Spring (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 Clear Spring. 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 Clear Spring ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Clear Spring: Clear Spg. (or less commonly used: Clear Spng. or Clear Sprng.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Clear Spring. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Clear Spring.
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 northeast 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 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 east 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.
Clear Spring is located in Jackson 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 Jackson County: Bartholomew, Brown, Jennings, Lawrence, Scott & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near Clear Spring. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Clear Spring:
- Jackson County (The home county of Clear Spring)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Spring, with the one closest to Clear Spring listed first.
- Kurtz
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Kurtz is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kurtz
- Norman
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Freetown
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Houston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Houston is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
- Medora
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Medora is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medora
- Population from the 2020 Census: 693 people
- Vallonia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Brownstown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Spraytown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Spraytown is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spraytown
- New Elizabethtown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- New Elizabethtown is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Elizabethtown
- Cortland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Cortland is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cortland
- Dudleytown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Dudleytown is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudleytown
- Seymour
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Bartholomew County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Spring, with the one closest to Clear Spring listed first.
- North Ogilville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- North Ogilville is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ogilville
- Jonesville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Stony Lonesome
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Stony Lonesome is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Lonesome
- Bethel Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel Village is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel Village
- Garden City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Garden City is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Columbus
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Elizabethtown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Elizabethtown is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabethtown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 540 people
- Corn Brook
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Corn Brook is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corn Brook
- Jewell Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jewell Village is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell Village
- Petersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Petersville is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersville
- Taylorsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Clifford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Clifford is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
- Brown County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Spring, with the one closest to Clear Spring listed first.
- Becks Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Becks Grove is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Becks Grove
- Story
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Story is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Story
- Pikes Peak
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Pikes Peak is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikes Peak
- Gnaw Bone
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Mount Liberty
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Mount Liberty is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Liberty
- Nashville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Beanblossom
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Beanblossom is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beanblossom
- Beanblossom has also been known as:
- Bean Blossom
- Helmsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Helmsburg is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helmsburg
- Spearsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Spearsville is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spearsville
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Spring, with the one closest to Clear Spring listed first.
- Owensburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Owensburg is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owensburg
- Hendricksville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hendricksville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendricksville
- Jennings County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Spring, with the one closest to Clear Spring listed first.
- Four Corners
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Four Corners is located in Jennings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
- Hayden
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Hayden is located in Jennings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayden
- Scipio
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Scipio is located in Jennings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scipio
- Queensville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Queensville is located in Jennings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queensville
- Commiskey
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Paris Crossing
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Paris Crossing is located in Jennings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris Crossing
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Spring, with the one closest to Clear Spring listed first.
- Peoga
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Peoga is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoga
- Princes Lakes
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Princes Lakes is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princes Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,342 people
- Nineveh
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Spring, with the one closest to Clear Spring listed first.
- Zelma
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Zelma is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zelma
- Leesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Leesville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
- Heltonville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Erie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Erie is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
- Fort Ritner
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Fort Ritner is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Ritner
- Crawford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Crawford is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Tunnelton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Tunnelton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelton
- Bono
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bono is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bono
- Lawrenceport
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lawrenceport is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceport
- Stonington
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Stonington is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonington
- Bedford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Guthrie
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Guthrie is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guthrie
- Martin County
- Mount Olive
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Mount Olive is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Spring, with the one closest to Clear Spring listed first.
- Smithville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Harrodsburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Harrodsburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrodsburg
- Clear Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Clear Creek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Creek
- Bloomington
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Unionville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Kirksville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Kirksville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirksville
- Highland Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Highland Village is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Village
- Dolan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dolan is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolan
- Stanford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Stanford is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanford
- Ellettsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Orange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Spring, with the one closest to Clear Spring listed first.
- Leipsic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Leipsic is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leipsic
- Orleans
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bromer
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bromer is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromer
- Mahan Crossing
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Mahan Crossing is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahan Crossing
- Chambersburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Chambersburg is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambersburg
- Trotter Crossing
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Trotter Crossing is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trotter Crossing
- Paoli
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Abydel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Abydel is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abydel
- Scott County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Spring, with the one closest to Clear Spring listed first.
- Austin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Marshfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Marshfield is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshfield
- Albion
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Albion is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Scottsburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Spring, with the one closest to Clear Spring listed first.
- Plattsburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Plattsburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattsburg
- Kossuth
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Kossuth is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kossuth
- Saltillo
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Saltillo is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saltillo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Campbellsburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Smedley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Smedley is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smedley
- Claysville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Claysville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claysville
- Salem
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Little York
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Little York is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little York
- Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
- Harristown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Harristown is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harristown
- Livonia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Livonia is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
- South Boston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- South Boston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Boston
- Bartle
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bartle is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartle
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Clear Spring, see our County-by-County Page for Clear Spring.
Cemeteries Near Clear Spring ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Clear Spring.
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 Clear Spring - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Clear Spring covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Clear Spring, with the one closest to Clear Spring listed first.
- Clearspring Baptist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Bower Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Bagwell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Scott - Wray Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hanner Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Cummings Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Cornett Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Smallwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Callahan Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Goss Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Heighton Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Beem Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (297 more) ...
- Wayman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayman Cemetery
- The Wayman Cemetery has also been known as:
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
- Wayman / Pleasant Grove Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #87305 <2>
- Lucas Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Thompson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
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 Clear Spring in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Clear Spring.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Clear Spring, with the one closest to Clear Spring listed first.
- Kurtz
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Kurtz is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kurtz
- Norman
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Zelma
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Zelma is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zelma
- Freetown
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Leesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Leesville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
- Houston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Houston is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
- Medora
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Medora is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medora
- Population from the 2020 Census: 693 people
- Maumee
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Maumee is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maumee
- Vallonia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ewing
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Ewing is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewing
- Surprise
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Surprise is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surprise
- Yellowstone
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Yellowstone is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellowstone
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Heltonville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Erie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Erie is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
- Brownstown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Clear Spring. See our List of 1890's Communities around Clear Spring.
Newspapers Published in Clear Spring ...
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 47 newspapers that have been published in the area around Clear Spring.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Clear Spring, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Clear Spring.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Clear Spring:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Jackson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bartholomew County
- Brown County
- Greene County
- Jennings County
- Johnson County
- Lawrence County
- Martin County
- Monroe County
- Orange County
- Scott County
- Washington 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 Clear Spring, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Clear Spring) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |