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 Harlan (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 Harlan. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.
Harlan is located in Allen 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 Allen County: Adams, DeKalb, Huntington, Noble, Wells, Whitley, Defiance (OH), Paulding (OH) & Van Wert (OH).
Below are the counties that are near Harlan. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Harlan:
- Allen County (The home county of Harlan)
- The following are listed by their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
- Grabill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Leo-Cedarville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Leo-Cedarville is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leo-Cedarville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,882 people
- Leo
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Woodburn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hacienda Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hacienda Village is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hacienda Village
- Edgerton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Edgerton is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
- New Haven
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Zulu
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Zulu is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zulu
- Huntertown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Wallen
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Wallen is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallen
- Anthony Wayne Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fort Wayne
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
- Decatur
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Preble
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Magley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Magley is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magley
- Pleasant Mills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Honduras
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Honduras is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honduras
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
- Spencerville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Saint Joe
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Concord
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Concord is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- New Era
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- New Era is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Era
- Auburn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Moore
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Moore is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore
- Garrett
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Butler
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Altona
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Altona is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altona
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Waterloo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Corunna
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Corunna is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Fairfield Center
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fairfield Center is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Center
- Huntington County
- Roanoke
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- LaGrange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
- Gravel Beach
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gravel Beach is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Beach
- South Milford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- South Milford is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Milford
- Stroh
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Stroh is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroh
- Noble County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
- Laotto
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Avilla
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ege
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Ege is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ege
- Kendallville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Green Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Green Center is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Center
- Wakeville Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wakeville Village is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakeville Village
- Merriam
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Merriam is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merriam
- Albion
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Port Mitchell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Port Mitchell is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Mitchell
- Brimfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Brimfield is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
- Rome City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Steuben County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
- Hamilton
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Hamilton is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,595 people
- Hudson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Russels Point
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Russels Point is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russels Point
- Alvarado
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Alvarado is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- Pleasant Lake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Wells County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
- Ossian
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Tocsin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Tocsin is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tocsin
- Zanesville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Craigville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Craigville is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigville
- Uniondale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Whitley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
- Churubusco
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Dunfee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Dunfee is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunfee
- Collins
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Collins is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Tri-Lakes
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Tri-Lakes is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tri-Lakes
- Columbia City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Cresco
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Cresco is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cresco
- Defiance County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
- Hicksville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sherwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Ney
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- 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>
- Brunersburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Brunersburg is located in Defiance County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunersburg
- Defiance
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Williamstown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Williamstown is located in Defiance County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- Paulding County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
- Link ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Link is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Link
- Antwerp
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Knoxdale ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Knoxdale is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knoxdale
- Payne
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Payne is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Payne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,132 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Payne <1>
- McGill ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- McGill is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGill
- Batson ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Batson is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batson
- Worstville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Worstville is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worstville
- Cecil
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Cecil is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- New Rochester ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- New Rochester is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Rochester
- Paulding
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Tipton ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Tipton is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Emmett
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Emmett is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmett
- Emmett has also been known as:
- Emerald Station
- Emerald
- Van Wert County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
- Dixon
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Dixon is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
- Convoy
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Scott
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wren
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Wren is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren
- Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wren <1>
- Hoaglin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hoaglin is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoaglin
- Van Wert
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Glenmore
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Glenmore is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmore
- Williams County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
- Edgerton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Denmark ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Denmark is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Melbern
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Melbern is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbern
- Blakeslee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Edon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- 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>
- Bryan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bryan is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,212 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bryan <1>
- Columbia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Columbia is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia
- Pulaski
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pulaski is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Harlan, see our County-by-County Page for Harlan.
Cemeteries Near Harlan ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Harlan.
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 Harlan - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Harlan covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
- Barnett Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Yaggy Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- White City Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Scipio Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- St. Michaels Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Diehl Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Schlatter Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bowers Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Watson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Emmanuel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bear Creek Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Banks Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (282 more) ...
- Alton Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Riverside Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Concord Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Harlan had a population of 671 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
- Halls Corners
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Halls Corners is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halls Corners
- Hursh
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hursh is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hursh
- Leo
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Cedarville ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Cedarville is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Thurman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Thurman is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thurman
- Spencerville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Woodburn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Link ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Link is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Link
- Antwerp
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Concord
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Concord is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- New Haven
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Edgerton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Edgerton is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Smiley ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Smiley is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiley
- Hicksville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Zulu
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Zulu is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zulu
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Harlan. See our List of 1890's Communities around Harlan.
Newspapers Published in Harlan ...
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 131 newspapers that have been published in the area around Harlan.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Harlan, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Harlan.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Harlan:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Allen County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- DeKalb County
- Huntington County
- LaGrange County
- Noble County
- Steuben County
- Wells County
- Whitley County
- Defiance County
- Paulding County
- Van Wert 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> | 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 Harlan, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Harlan) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |