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 Ellis (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 Ellis. 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.
Ellis is located in Steuben 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 Steuben County: DeKalb, LaGrange, Noble, Branch (MI), Hillsdale (MI) & Williams (OH).
Below are the counties that are near Ellis. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ellis:
- Steuben County (The home county of Ellis)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ellis, with the one closest to Ellis listed first.
- Angola
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Russels Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Russels Point is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russels Point
- Alvarado
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Alvarado is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- Fremont
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- York
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- York is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Hamilton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hamilton is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,595 people
- Pleasant Lake
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Ray
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Ray is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Clear Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Clear Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Jamestown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jamestown is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Hudson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Orland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Allen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ellis, with the one closest to Ellis listed first.
- Leo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Grabill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Leo-Cedarville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Leo-Cedarville is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leo-Cedarville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,882 people
- Harlan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Ari
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ari is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ari
- Huntertown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ellis, with the one closest to Ellis listed first.
- Ashley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Butler
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Waterloo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Fairfield Center
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fairfield Center is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Center
- Moore
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Moore is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore
- Corunna
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Corunna is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Auburn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Concord
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Concord is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Saint Joe
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Altona
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Altona is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altona
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Garrett
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Spencerville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- New Era
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- New Era is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Era
- LaGrange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ellis, with the one closest to Ellis listed first.
- Stroh
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Stroh is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroh
- Gravel Beach
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Gravel Beach is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Beach
- Greenfield Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- Brushy Prairie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Brushy Prairie is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Prairie
- Mongo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- South Milford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- South Milford is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Milford
- Brighton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Brighton is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Plato
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Plato is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato
- Valentine
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- Wolcottville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- LaGrange
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Howe
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Noble County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ellis, with the one closest to Ellis listed first.
- Kendallville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wakeville Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wakeville Village is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakeville Village
- Avilla
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Rome City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Brimfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Brimfield is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
- Laotto
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Albion
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ege
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ege is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ege
- Cosperville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Cosperville is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosperville
- Branch County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ellis, with the one closest to Ellis listed first.
- Ray
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Canada Shores
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Canada Shores is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Shores
- Gilead
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gilead is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Fisher
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Fisher is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
- Hatmaker
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Hatmaker is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- Coldwater
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Quincy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Trailtree Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Trailtree Village is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailtree Village
- Batavia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Batavia is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Bronson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Matteson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Matteson is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matteson
- Girard
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Girard is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard
- Hodunk
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Hodunk is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodunk
- Hillsdale County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ellis, with the one closest to Ellis listed first.
- Camden
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Montgomery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Montgomery is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
- Reading
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Frontier
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Frontier is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frontier
- Buckeye ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Buckeye is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
- Ransom
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ransom is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ransom
- Steamburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Steamburg is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steamburg
- Allen
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Allen is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 192 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Allen <1>
- Shadyside
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Shadyside is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadyside
- Hillsdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Osseo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Waldron
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Waldron is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 521 people
- Lickly Corners
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lickly Corners is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickly Corners
- Lenawee County (MI)
- Munson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Munson is located in Lenawee County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munson
- Saint Joseph County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ellis, with the one closest to Ellis listed first.
- Fawn River
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Fawn River is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn River
- Burr Oak
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sturgis
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sturgis is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,803 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sturgis <1>
- Findley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Findley is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Findley
- Colon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Colon is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,155 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colon <1>
- Defiance County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ellis, with the one closest to Ellis listed first.
- Hicksville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Ney
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ney is located in Defiance County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ney
- Population from the 2020 Census: 337 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ney <1>
- Sherwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fulton County (OH)
- Fayette
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Paulding County (OH)
- Link ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Link is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Link
- Williams County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ellis, with the one closest to Ellis listed first.
- Columbia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Columbia is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia
- Cooney
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Cooney is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooney
- Edon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Edon is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 807 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edon <1>
- Northwest
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Northwest is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwest
- Ainger
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Ainger is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ainger
- Blakeslee
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Denmark ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Denmark is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Edgerton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jim Town
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Jim Town is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jim Town
- Montpelier
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Melbern
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Melbern is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbern
- Holiday City
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Holiday City is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
- Pioneer
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ellis, see our County-by-County Page for Ellis.
Cemeteries Near Ellis ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ellis.
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 Ellis - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ellis covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ellis, with the one closest to Ellis listed first.
- South Scott Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- North Otsgeo Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jones Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Teegardin Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Kope Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Circle Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Otsego Center Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Dygert Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Old Circle Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Matson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Carter Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jordan Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (305 more) ...
- Sowles Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Crockett Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Lakeside 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Ellis had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ellis, with the one closest to Ellis listed first.
- Metz
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Metz is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metz
- Angola
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Alvarado
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Alvarado is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- Pleasant Lake
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Hamilton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hamilton is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,595 people
- Cooney
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Cooney is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooney
- Clear Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Clear Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Ray
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Ray is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Edon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Edon is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 807 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edon <1>
- Summit
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Summit is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Nettle Lake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Nettle Lake is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettle Lake
- Northwest
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Northwest is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwest
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Nevada Mills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Nevada Mills is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevada Mills
- Inverness
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Inverness is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Hudson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ellis. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ellis.
Newspapers Published in Ellis ...
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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ellis.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ellis, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ellis.
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 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 Ellis:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Steuben County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allen County
- DeKalb County
- LaGrange County
- Noble County
- Branch County
- Hillsdale County
- Lenawee County
- Saint Joseph County
- Defiance County
- Fulton County
- Paulding County
- Williams 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 Ellis, 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- Ellis) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |