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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 Freetown (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 Freetown. 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 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.

Freetown is located in Jackson County.

To see how the shape of Indiana's counties 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 Freetown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Freetown:

  • Jackson County     (The home county of Freetown)
  • Bartholomew County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Freetown, with the one closest to Freetown listed first.
    • North Ogilville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jonesville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jonesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville
      • Jonesville is located in Bartholomew County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jonesville <2>
    • Stony Lonesome
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Bethel Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bethel Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel Village
      • Bethel Village is located in Bartholomew County
    • Garden City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
      • Garden City is located in Bartholomew County
    • Columbus
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Elizabethtown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Corn Brook
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jewell Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jewell Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell Village
      • Jewell Village is located in Bartholomew County
    • Petersville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Grammer
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Taylorsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Clifford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clifford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
      • Clifford is located in Bartholomew County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
  • Brown County
  • Decatur County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Freetown, with the one closest to Freetown listed first.
    • Alert
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Sardinia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Jefferson County
    • Deputy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deputy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deputy
      • Deputy is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deputy <2>
  • Jennings County
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Freetown, with the one closest to Freetown listed first.
    • Peoga
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peoga have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoga
      • Peoga is located in Johnson County
    • Princes Lakes
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Princes Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princes Lakes
      • Princes Lakes is located in Johnson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,342 people
    • Nineveh
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Edinburgh
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Samaria
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Trafalgar
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Lawrence County
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Freetown, with the one closest to Freetown listed first.
    • Smithville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Harrodsburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrodsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrodsburg
      • Harrodsburg is located in Monroe County
    • Unionville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Unionville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
      • Unionville is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Unionville <2>
    • Clear Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Bloomington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Dolan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Kirksville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kirksville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirksville
      • Kirksville is located in Monroe County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kirksville
      • From Freetown to Kirksville
    • Highland Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Highland Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Village
      • Highland Village is located in Monroe County
    • Stanford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Morgan County
    • Morgantown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morgantown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgantown
      • Morgantown is located in Morgan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 992 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morgantown <2>
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Freetown, with the one closest to Freetown listed first.
    • Leipsic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Orleans
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orleans have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
      • Orleans is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,107 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orleans <2>
    • Bromer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Scott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Freetown, with the one closest to Freetown listed first.
    • Austin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Albion
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Marshfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Marshfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshfield
      • Marshfield is located in Scott County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Marshfield
      • From Freetown to Marshfield
    • Scottsburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scottsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottsburg
      • Scottsburg is located in Scott County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,703 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scottsburg <2>
    • Blocher
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Goshen
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Freetown, with the one closest to Freetown listed first.
    • Plattsburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Kossuth
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kossuth. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kossuth
      • Kossuth is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kossuth
      • From Freetown to Kossuth
    • Little York
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little York have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little York
      • Little York is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
    • Campbellsburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Saltillo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saltillo have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saltillo
      • Saltillo is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
    • Smedley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Smedley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smedley
      • Smedley is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Smedley
      • From Freetown to Smedley
    • Claysville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Claysville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claysville
      • Claysville is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Claysville
      • From Freetown to Claysville
    • Salem
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Harristown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Harristown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harristown
      • Harristown is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Harristown
      • From Freetown to Harristown
    • South Boston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Livonia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Livonia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livonia
      • Livonia is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people

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

Cemeteries Near Freetown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Freetown.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Lucas Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lucas Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lucas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bagwell Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bagwell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bagwell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wayman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Waggoner Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Waggoner Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Waggoner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Spraytown Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Cummings Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cummings Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cummings Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bower Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bower Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bower Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lutes Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Houston Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Thompson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Thompson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Thompson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Clearspring Baptist Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • McKinney Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McKinney Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McKinney Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (294 more) ...
    • Smallwood Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smallwood Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smallwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Weddell Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Weddell Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Weddell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Cornett Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cornett Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cornett Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Freetown had a population of 254 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Surprise
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Surprise have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surprise
    • Surprise is located in Jackson County
  • Spraytown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Spraytown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spraytown
    • Spraytown is located in Jackson County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Spraytown
    • From Freetown to Spraytown
  • Kurtz
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Houston
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Houston. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
    • Houston is located in Jackson County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Houston
    • From Freetown to Houston
  • Norman
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Christiansburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Christiansburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christiansburg
    • Christiansburg is located in Brown County
  • Ewing
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ewing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewing
    • Ewing is located in Jackson County
  • Brownstown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Shields
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shields have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shields
    • Shields is located in Jackson County
  • Waymansville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waymansville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waymansville
    • Waymansville is located in Bartholomew County
  • Becks Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Maumee
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maumee have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maumee
    • Maumee is located in Jackson County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Freetown ...

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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Freetown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Freetown, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Freetown.

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 Freetown:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Freetown. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Indiana: https://www.in.gov

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>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.
<5>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 Freetown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Freetown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Freetown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.9759, Longitude: -86.1296    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025