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 Forest Hill (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 Forest Hill. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
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 south 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.
Forest Hill is located in Decatur 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 Decatur County: Bartholomew, Franklin, Jennings, Ripley, Rush & Shelby.
Below are the counties that are near Forest Hill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Forest Hill:
- Decatur County (The home county of Forest Hill)
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
- Letts Corner
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Letts Corner is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letts Corner
- Letts
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Letts is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letts
- Harris City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Harris City is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris City
- Burney
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Burney is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burney
- Westport
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Westport is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,416 people
- Milford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Harper
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Harper is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Sardinia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Sardinia is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardinia
- Alert
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Alert is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alert
- Adams
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Adams is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
- Greensburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Germantown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Germantown is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germantown
- Bartholomew County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
- Hartsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Hartsville is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
- Rugby
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rugby is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
- Newbern
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Newbern is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbern
- Hope
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Hope is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,248 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hope <1>
- Grammer
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Grammer is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grammer
- Petersville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Petersville is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersville
- Elizabethtown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Elizabethtown is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabethtown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 540 people
- Clifford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Clifford is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
- Jewell Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Jewell Village is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell Village
- Columbus
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Corn Brook
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Corn Brook is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corn Brook
- Garden City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Garden City is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Brown County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
- Mount Liberty
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Mount Liberty is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Liberty
- Becks Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Becks Grove is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Becks Grove
- Gnaw Bone
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Pikes Peak
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Pikes Peak is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikes Peak
- Dearborn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
- Moores Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lawrenceville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Lawrenceville is located in Dearborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceville
- Fayette County
- Orange
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Orange is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
- Enochsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Enochsburg is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enochsburg
- Oldenburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Andersonville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Andersonville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andersonville
- Laurel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Metamora
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Forest
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Oak Forest is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Forest
- Youngs Corner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Youngs Corner is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngs Corner
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
- Fleming
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fleming is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleming
- Seymour
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Kriete Corner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Kriete Corner is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kriete Corner
- Cortland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cortland is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cortland
- New Elizabethtown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- New Elizabethtown is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Elizabethtown
- Spraytown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Spraytown is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spraytown
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
- Dupont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Middlefork
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Middlefork is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlefork
- Bryantsburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bryantsburg is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryantsburg
- Jennings County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
- Zenas
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Zenas is located in Jennings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenas
- Scipio
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Scipio is located in Jennings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scipio
- Queensville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Queensville is located in Jennings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queensville
- Butlerville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Oakdale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Oakdale is located in Jennings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
- North Vernon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Vernon
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Grayford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Grayford is located in Jennings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayford
- Hayden
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Hayden is located in Jennings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayden
- Four Corners
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Four Corners is located in Jennings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
- San Jacinto
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- San Jacinto is located in Jennings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Jacinto
- Commiskey
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
- Edinburgh
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Amity
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Amity is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amity
- Needham
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Nineveh
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Urmeyville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Urmeyville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urmeyville
- Princes Lakes
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Princes Lakes is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princes Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,342 people
- Franklin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Peoga
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Peoga is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoga
- Trafalgar
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Parke County
- Stumptown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Stumptown is located in Parke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stumptown
- Ripley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
- Napoleon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Holton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Otter Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Otter Village is located in Ripley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Village
- Osgood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Batesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Lookout
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Lookout is located in Ripley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lookout
- Delaware
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Delaware is located in Ripley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delaware
- Morris
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Morris is located in Ripley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris
- Versailles
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Pierceville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Pierceville is located in Ripley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierceville
- Stumpke Corner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Stumpke Corner is located in Ripley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stumpke Corner
- Milan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Rush County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
- Williamstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Williamstown is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- Moscow
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Moscow is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Gowdy
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Gowdy is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowdy
- Milroy
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Manilla
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Manilla is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manilla
- Homer
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Homer is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
- Arlington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Rushville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Henderson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Henderson is located in Rush County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson
- Glenwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
- Geneva
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Geneva is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
- Norristown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Norristown is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norristown
- Waldron
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Waldron is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
- Flat Rock
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Wilson Corner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wilson Corner is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Corner
- Prescott
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Prescott is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
- Mount Auburn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Auburn is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Auburn
- Blue Ridge
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Blue Ridge is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Ridge
- Riley Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Riley Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riley Village
- Rays Crossing
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Rays Crossing is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rays Crossing
- Shelbyville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Beech Brook
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Beech Brook is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Brook
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Forest Hill, see our County-by-County Page for Forest Hill.
Cemeteries Near Forest Hill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Forest Hill.
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 Forest Hill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Forest Hill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
- Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Patrick Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Lower Union Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Finley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Mt. Aerie Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Aerie Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Aerie Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Letts.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1981326 <2>
- Columbia Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Center Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Shirk Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Asbury Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Swinney Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hartsville College Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Continue List (334 more) ...
- Pumphrey Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Wesley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Westport Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
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 Forest Hill had a population of 124 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Forest Hill, with the one closest to Forest Hill listed first.
- Letts Corner
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Letts Corner is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letts Corner
- Horace
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Horace is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horace
- Waynesburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Waynesburg is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waynesburg
- Burney
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Burney is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burney
- Harris City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Harris City is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris City
- Hartsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Hartsville is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
- Westport
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Westport is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,416 people
- Gaynorsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Gaynorsville is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaynorsville
- Ewington
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Ewington is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewington
- Rugby
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rugby is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
- Newbern
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Newbern is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbern
- Alert
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Alert is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alert
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Sardinia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Sardinia is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardinia
- Harper
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Harper is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Burnsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Burnsville is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnsville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Forest Hill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Forest Hill.
Newspapers Published in Forest Hill ...
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 Forest Hill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Forest Hill, 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 Forest Hill.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Forest Hill:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Decatur County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bartholomew County
- Brown County
- Dearborn County
- Fayette County
- Franklin County
- Jackson County
- Jefferson County
- Jennings County
- Johnson County
- Parke County
- Ripley County
- Rush County
- Shelby 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 Forest Hill, 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- Forest Hill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |