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 Handy (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 Handy. 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.
Handy is located in Monroe 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 Monroe County: Brown, Greene, Jackson, Lawrence, Morgan & Owen.
Below are the counties that are near Handy. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Handy:
- Monroe County (The home county of Handy)
- The following are listed by their distance from Handy, with the one closest to Handy listed first.
- Smithville
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Clear Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Clear Creek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Creek
- Bloomington
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Highland Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Highland Village is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Village
- Harrodsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Harrodsburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrodsburg
- Kirksville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kirksville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirksville
- Dolan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Dolan is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolan
- Stanford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Stanford is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanford
- Unionville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ellettsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Stinesville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Stinesville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Bartholomew County
- The following are listed by their distance from Handy, with the one closest to Handy listed first.
- Stony Lonesome
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Stony Lonesome is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Lonesome
- North Ogilville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- North Ogilville is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ogilville
- Bethel Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Bethel Village is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel Village
- Garden City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- 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 Handy, with the one closest to Handy listed first.
- Story
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Story is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Story
- Helmsburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Helmsburg is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helmsburg
- Nashville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Beanblossom
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Beanblossom is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beanblossom
- Beanblossom has also been known as:
- Bean Blossom
- Gnaw Bone
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Pikes Peak
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Pikes Peak is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikes Peak
- Becks Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Becks Grove is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Becks Grove
- Mount Liberty
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Mount Liberty is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Liberty
- Spearsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Spearsville is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spearsville
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Handy, with the one closest to Handy listed first.
- Hendricksville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Hendricksville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendricksville
- Solsberry
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Newark
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Newark is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
- Owensburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Owensburg is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owensburg
- Koleen
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Koleen is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koleen
- Calvertville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Calvertville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvertville
- Mineral City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Mineral City is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral City
- Tulip
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Tulip is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulip
- Bloomfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Scotland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Scotland is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
- Elliston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Elliston is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliston
- Worthington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Handy, with the one closest to Handy listed first.
- Norman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Houston
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Houston is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
- Kurtz
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Kurtz is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kurtz
- Freetown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Spraytown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Spraytown is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spraytown
- Medora
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Medora is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medora
- Population from the 2020 Census: 693 people
- Vallonia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Brownstown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cortland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Cortland is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cortland
- New Elizabethtown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- New Elizabethtown is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Elizabethtown
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Handy, with the one closest to Handy listed first.
- Peoga
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Peoga is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoga
- Samaria
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Samaria is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samaria
- Anita ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Anita is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anita
- Princes Lakes
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Princes Lakes is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princes Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,342 people
- Nineveh
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Trafalgar
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Handy, with the one closest to Handy listed first.
- Guthrie
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Guthrie is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guthrie
- Judah
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Judah is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judah
- Popcorn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Popcorn is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popcorn
- Springville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Springville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Avoca
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Avoca is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Oolitic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Heltonville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Erie
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Erie is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
- Zelma
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Zelma is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zelma
- Bedford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Fayetteville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Fayetteville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
- Coxton
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Coxton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coxton
- Martin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Handy, with the one closest to Handy listed first.
- Mount Olive
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Olive is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Crane
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Burns City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Burns City is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns City
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Handy, with the one closest to Handy listed first.
- Mahalasville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Mahalasville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahalasville
- Paragon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Taggart Crossing ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Taggart Crossing is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taggart Crossing
- Martinsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Morgantown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lewisville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Lewisville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
- Plano
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Plano is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
- Wilbur
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Wilbur is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbur
- Bethany
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Bethany is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
- Population from the 2020 Census: 88 people
- Eminence
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Eminence is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eminence
- Minetree ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Minetree is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minetree
- Minetree has also been known as:
- Billtown
- Meintree
- Menietree
- Orange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Handy, with the one closest to Handy listed first.
- Leipsic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Leipsic is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leipsic
- Orleans
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Owen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Handy, with the one closest to Handy listed first.
- Gosport
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Spencer
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Freedom
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Freedom is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom
- Arney
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Arney is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arney
- Cuba
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cuba is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Quincy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Quincy is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
- Atkinsonville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Atkinsonville is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinsonville
- Patricksburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Patricksburg is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patricksburg
- Coal City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Coal City is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Denmark
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Denmark is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Handy, see our County-by-County Page for Handy.
Cemeteries Near Handy ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Handy.
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 Handy - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Handy covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Handy, with the one closest to Handy listed first.
- Lucas Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Mt. Salem Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Knights of Pythias Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Clear Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Deckard Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Chambers Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Burgoon Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Friendship Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Clover Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hanson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Valhalla Memory Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (348 more) ...
- Harmony Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Burch Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Perry Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
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>
While we didn't find Handy in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Handy.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Handy, with the one closest to Handy listed first.
- Smithville
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Clear Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Clear Creek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Creek
- Victor
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Victor is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victor
- Bloomington
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Harrodsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Harrodsburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrodsburg
- Fairfax
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Fairfax is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax
- Kirksville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kirksville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirksville
- Guthrie
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Guthrie is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guthrie
- Buenavista
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Buenavista is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenavista
- Bartlettsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Bartlettsville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlettsville
- Stanford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Stanford is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanford
- Logan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Logan is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Yellowstone
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Yellowstone is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellowstone
- Unionville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ellettsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Handy. See our List of 1890's Communities around Handy.
Newspapers Published in Handy ...
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 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around Handy.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Handy, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Handy.
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 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 Handy:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Monroe County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bartholomew County
- Brown County
- Greene County
- Jackson County
- Johnson County
- Lawrence County
- Martin County
- Morgan County
- Orange County
- Owen 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 Handy, 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- Handy) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |