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 Decatur (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 Decatur. 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 Decatur ...
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.
In past government published Postal Guides, Decatur was referred to as Decatur Courthouse.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Decatur. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Decatur.
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.
For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.
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 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 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.
Decatur is located in Adams County and is the County Seat.
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 Adams County: Allen, Jay, Wells, Mercer (OH) & Van Wert (OH).
Below are the counties that are near Decatur. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Decatur:
- Adams County (The home county of Decatur)
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Preble
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Monroe
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Mills
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Coppess Corner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Coppess Corner is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppess Corner
- Magley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Magley is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magley
- Honduras
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Honduras is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honduras
- Berne
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Linn Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Linn Grove is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linn Grove
- Geneva
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Allen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Hoagland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Monroeville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Dixon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dixon is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
- Zulu
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Zulu is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zulu
- Yoder
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- New Haven
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Anthony Wayne Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Edgerton
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Edgerton is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
- Indian Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Indian Village is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Hacienda Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Hacienda Village is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hacienda Village
- Woodburn
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Fort Wayne
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Aboite
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Aboite is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aboite
- Blackford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Montpelier
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ridertown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ridertown is located in Blackford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridertown
- Huntington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Markle
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Roanoke
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Plum Tree
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Plum Tree is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Tree
- Bowerstown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Bowerstown is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowerstown
- Majenica
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Majenica is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Majenica
- Warren
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Huntington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- River
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- River is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River
- Jay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Jay City
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Jay City is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jay City
- Bryant
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Trinity
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Trinity is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity
- Bloomfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Bloomfield is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
- Fiat
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fiat is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiat
- Antiville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Antiville is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antiville
- Pennville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Portland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Pony
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Pony is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pony
- Blaine
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Blaine is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
- Greene
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Greene is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greene
- Wells County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Craigville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Craigville is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigville
- Tocsin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Tocsin is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tocsin
- Vera Cruz
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Vera Cruz is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vera Cruz
- Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
- Ossian
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- North Oaks
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- North Oaks is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Oaks
- Bluffton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Reiffsburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Reiffsburg is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reiffsburg
- Uniondale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Travisville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Travisville is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travisville
- Greenville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Greenville is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Petroleum
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Petroleum is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petroleum
- Phenix
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Phenix is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phenix
- Poneto
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Poneto is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poneto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
- Whitley County
- Dunfee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dunfee is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunfee
- Allen County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Landeck
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Landeck is located in Allen County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landeck
- Delphos
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Mercer County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Rockford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Skeels Crossroads
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Skeels Crossroads is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skeels Crossroads
- Scudder
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Scudder is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scudder
- Tama
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Tama is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tama
- Mercer
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mercer is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercer
- Wabash
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wabash is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabash
- Earley ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Earley is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earley
- Mendon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Macedon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Macedon is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedon
- Celina
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Coldwater
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Recovery
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Montezuma
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Montezuma is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montezuma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
- Paulding County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- McGill ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- McGill is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGill
- Batson ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Batson is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batson
- Tipton ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Tipton is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Payne
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Payne is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Payne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,132 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Payne <1>
- Folmer ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Folmer is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folmer
- Haviland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Haviland is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haviland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 202 people
- Worstville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Worstville is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worstville
- Dague ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Dague is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dague
- Latty
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Latty is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latty
- Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
- Antwerp
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Grover Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Grover Hill is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 377 people
- Broughton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Broughton is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broughton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
- Hedges
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hedges is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedges
- Van Wert County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Wren
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Wren is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren
- Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wren <1>
- Willshire
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Dixon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dixon is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
- Schumm
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Schumm is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schumm
- Abanaka
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Abanaka is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abanaka
- Glenmore
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Glenmore is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmore
- Convoy
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ohio City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Van Wert
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Scott
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hoaglin
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Hoaglin is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoaglin
- Elgin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Elgin is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Venedocia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Venedocia is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venedocia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Decatur, see our County-by-County Page for Decatur.
Cemeteries Near Decatur ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Decatur.
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 Decatur - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Decatur covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Decatur Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur Cemetery
- The Decatur Cemetery has also been known as:
- Greenwood Cemetery
- Maplewood Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #85219 <2>
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Union Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Salem Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Alpha Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Valley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Tabor Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Old Mt. Tabor Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Bethel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Ray Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Salem Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- St. Lukes Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (271 more) ...
- Zion Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Smith Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Clark Chapel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Decatur had a population of 3,142 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Decatur had a population of 9,884 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Monmouth
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Monmouth is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monmouth
- Peterson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Peterson is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peterson
- Rivare
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Rivare is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivare
- Preble
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Monroe
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Mills
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Williams
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Magley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Magley is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magley
- Honduras
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Honduras is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honduras
- Curryville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Curryville is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curryville
- Hoagland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Wren
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Wren is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren
- Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wren <1>
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Craigville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Craigville is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigville
- Willshire
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Wolfcale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wolfcale is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfcale
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Decatur. See our List of 1890's Communities around Decatur.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Decatur ...
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 101 newspapers that have been published in the area around Decatur.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Decatur. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Decatur and those printed in the larger area surrounding Decatur.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4> of Decatur.
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 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 Decatur:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Adams County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allen County
- Blackford County
- Huntington County
- Jay County
- Wells County
- Whitley County
- Allen County
- Mercer County
- Paulding County
- Van Wert 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 Decatur, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Decatur) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |