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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 Donaldson (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 Donaldson. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

Donaldson is located in Marshall 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 Marshall County: Elkhart, Fulton, Kosciusko, Pulaski, Saint Joseph & Starke.

Below are the counties that are near Donaldson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Donaldson:

  • Marshall County     (The home county of Donaldson)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donaldson, with the one closest to Donaldson listed first.
    • Tyner
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Tyner is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyner
    • Plymouth
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Burr Oak
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Burr Oak is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr Oak
    • Harris
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Harris is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
    • Linkville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Linkville is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linkville
    • La Paz
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • La Paz is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Paz
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 549 people
    • Culver
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Culver is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culver
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,484 people
    • Argos
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Argos is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argos
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,619 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Argos <1>
    • Bremen
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Bourbon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Old Tip Town
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Old Tip Town is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Tip Town
    • Tippecanoe
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Elkhart County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donaldson, with the one closest to Donaldson listed first.
    • Nappanee
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Wakarusa
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Gravelton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Gravelton is located in Elkhart County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravelton
    • Foraker
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Foraker is located in Elkhart County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foraker
    • Jamestown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jamestown is located in Elkhart County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
    • Southwest
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Southwest is located in Elkhart County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwest
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donaldson, with the one closest to Donaldson listed first.
    • Delong
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Delong is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delong
    • Leiters Ford
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Leiters Ford is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leiters Ford
    • Lake Bruce
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Lake Bruce is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Bruce
    • Kewanna
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Kewanna is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kewanna
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 598 people
    • Rochester
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Athens
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Athens is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
    • Grass Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Grass Creek is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grass Creek
    • Fulton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Jasper County
    • Tefft
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Tefft is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tefft
  • Kosciusko County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donaldson, with the one closest to Donaldson listed first.
    • Etna Green
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Mentone
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Atwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Atwood is located in Kosciusko County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwood
    • Clunette
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Clunette is located in Kosciusko County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clunette
    • Sevastopol
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Sevastopol is located in Kosciusko County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sevastopol
    • Burket
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Burket is located in Kosciusko County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burket
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
    • Beaver Dam
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Beaver Dam is located in Kosciusko County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Dam
    • Leesburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • LaPorte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donaldson, with the one closest to Donaldson listed first.
    • Kankakee
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Kankakee is located in LaPorte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kankakee
    • Kingsford Heights
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Kingsford Heights is located in LaPorte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsford Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,379 people
    • Stillwell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Stillwell is located in LaPorte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stillwell
    • Kingsbury
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Kingsbury is located in LaPorte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 239 people
    • Hanna
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Union Mills
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Door Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Door Village is located in LaPorte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Door Village
    • La Porte
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Rolling Prairie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • La Crosse
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Wanatah
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Haskell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Haskell is located in LaPorte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haskell
  • Porter County
    • Kouts
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Pulaski County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donaldson, with the one closest to Donaldson listed first.
    • Monterey
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Monterey is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
    • Beardstown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Beardstown is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beardstown
    • Lawton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Lawton is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
    • Denham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Denham is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denham
    • Winamac
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Star City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Thornhope
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • 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
    • Medaryville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Saint Joseph County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donaldson, with the one closest to Donaldson listed first.
    • Walkerton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • North Liberty
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Lakeville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Crumstown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Crumstown is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crumstown
    • Nutwood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Nutwood is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutwood
    • Wyatt
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Gulivoire Park
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Gulivoire Park is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulivoire Park
    • Zeigler
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Zeigler is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zeigler
    • South Bend
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • New Carlisle
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Mishawaka
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Indian Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Indian Village is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
  • Starke County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donaldson, with the one closest to Donaldson listed first.
    • Grovertown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Grovertown is located in Starke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grovertown
    • Koontz Lake
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Koontz Lake is located in Starke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koontz Lake
    • Ober
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Ober is located in Starke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ober
    • Hamlet
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Knox
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Knox is located in Starke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knox
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,552 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Knox <1>
    • Bass Lake
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Bass Lake is located in Starke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bass Lake
    • Ora
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Ora is located in Starke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
    • Toto
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Toto is located in Starke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toto
    • Aldine
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Aldine is located in Starke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldine
    • North Judson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • San Pierre
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Berrien County (MI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donaldson, with the one closest to Donaldson listed first.
    • Avery
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Avery is located in Berrien County (MI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
    • Bakertown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Bakertown is located in Berrien County (MI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakertown
    • Dayton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Dayton is located in Berrien County (MI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
    • Galien
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Galien is located in Berrien County (MI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galien
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 527 people

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Donaldson, see our County-by-County Page for Donaldson.

Cemeteries Near Donaldson ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Donaldson.

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 Donaldson - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Donaldson covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Donaldson, with the one closest to Donaldson listed first.

  • Donaldson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Immanuel Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Blissville Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Barber Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Burr Oak Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • McElrath Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Michaels Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Fletcher Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Swartzell Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (166 more) ...
    • Oak Hill Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Fairmount Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Fairmount Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<3> to the north of Plymouth.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #84962 <2>
    • Oak Grove Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Donaldson had a population of 110 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Donaldson, with the one closest to Donaldson listed first.

  • Grovertown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Grovertown is located in Starke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grovertown
  • Twin Lakes
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Twin Lakes is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
  • Ober
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Ober is located in Starke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ober
  • Walkerton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Burr Oak
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Burr Oak is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr Oak
  • Plymouth
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Teegarden
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Teegarden is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teegarden
  • Hamlet
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Hibbard
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Hibbard is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hibbard
  • Linkville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Linkville is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linkville
  • Harris
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Harris is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
  • Rutland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Rutland is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutland
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • La Paz
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • La Paz is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Paz
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 549 people
    • Knox
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Knox is located in Starke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knox
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,552 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Knox <1>
    • Winona
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Winona is located in Starke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winona

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Donaldson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Donaldson.

Newspapers Published in Donaldson ...

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 81 newspapers that have been published in the area around Donaldson.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Donaldson, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Donaldson.

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 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 Donaldson:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Donaldson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Donaldson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.