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 Lake James (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 Lake James. 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.
Name Variations for Lake James ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Lake James: Lk. James
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Lake James. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Lake James.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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.
Lake James 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 Lake James. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lake James:
- Steuben County (The home county of Lake James)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake James, with the one closest to Lake James listed first.
- Jamestown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jamestown is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Angola
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fremont
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Orland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Ray
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ray is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Pleasant Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Clear Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Clear Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- York
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- York is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Hudson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Russels Point
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Russels Point is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russels Point
- Hamilton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Hamilton is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,595 people
- Alvarado
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Alvarado is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake James, with the one closest to Lake James listed first.
- Ashley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Fairfield Center
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Fairfield Center is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Center
- Waterloo
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Corunna
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Corunna is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Moore
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Moore is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore
- Butler
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Auburn
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Garrett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Altona
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Altona is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altona
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Concord
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Concord is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Saint Joe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- New Era
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- New Era is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Era
- Spencerville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- LaGrange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake James, with the one closest to Lake James listed first.
- Greenfield Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- Brushy Prairie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Brushy Prairie is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Prairie
- Stroh
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Stroh is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroh
- Mongo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Gravel Beach
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Gravel Beach is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Beach
- Brighton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Brighton is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Plato
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Plato is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato
- South Milford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- South Milford is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Milford
- Valentine
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- Howe
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- LaGrange
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Wolcottville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Seyberts
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Seyberts is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyberts
- Noble County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake James, with the one closest to Lake James listed first.
- Wakeville Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Wakeville Village is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakeville Village
- Kendallville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Rome City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Avilla
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Brimfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Brimfield is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
- Cosperville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cosperville is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosperville
- Albion
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wawaka
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Laotto
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Branch County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake James, with the one closest to Lake James listed first.
- Canada Shores
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Canada Shores is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Shores
- Gilead
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Gilead is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Ray
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hatmaker
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Hatmaker is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- Bronson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Batavia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Batavia is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Fisher
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fisher is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
- Coldwater
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Trailtree Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Trailtree Village is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailtree Village
- Matteson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Matteson is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matteson
- Quincy
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Hodunk
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Hodunk is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodunk
- Girard
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Girard is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard
- Calhoun County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake James, with the one closest to Lake James listed first.
- Burlington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Burlington is located in Calhoun County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 277 people
- Tekonsha
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Athens
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Hillsdale County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake James, with the one closest to Lake James listed first.
- Montgomery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Montgomery is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
- Camden
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Reading
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Allen
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- 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>
- Frontier
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Frontier is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frontier
- Steamburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Steamburg is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steamburg
- Ransom
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Ransom is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ransom
- Hillsdale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Buckeye ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Buckeye is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
- Shadyside
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Shadyside is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadyside
- Jonesville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Litchfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Osseo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Joseph County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake James, with the one closest to Lake James listed first.
- Fawn River
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Fawn River is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn River
- Burr Oak
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sturgis
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- 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
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Findley is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Findley
- Colon
(22 miles [35.4 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>
- Fairfax
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Fairfax is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax
- Nottawa
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Klingers
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Klingers is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klingers
- Leonidas
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wasepi
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wasepi is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasepi
- Bluff Beach
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Bluff Beach is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Beach
- Oakwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Oakwood is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Factoryville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Factoryville is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Factoryville
- Williams County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake James, with the one closest to Lake James listed first.
- Columbia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Columbia is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia
- Cooney
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Cooney is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooney
- Northwest
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Northwest is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwest
- Edon
(17 miles [27.4 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>
- Ainger
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Ainger is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ainger
- Blakeslee
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Denmark ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Denmark is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Jim Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Jim Town is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jim Town
- Edgerton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Montpelier
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Pioneer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Holiday City
(26 miles [41.8 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
- Melbern
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Melbern is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbern
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Lake James, see our County-by-County Page for Lake James.
Cemeteries Near Lake James ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lake James.
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 Lake James - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Lake James covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lake James, with the one closest to Lake James listed first.
- Lake Gage Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Jamestown Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Sowles Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Crockett Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Old Circle Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Kope Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jordan Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Flint Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- East Gilead Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Circle Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Lakeside Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jackson Prairie Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (313 more) ...
- Jones Chapel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- The Old Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Old Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, The Old Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Fremont.
- The Old Cemetery has also been known as:
- Fremont Cemetery
- Old Fremont Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #170367 <2>
- Munday Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
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 Lake James in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Lake James.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Lake James, with the one closest to Lake James listed first.
- Nevada Mills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Nevada Mills is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevada Mills
- Inverness
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Inverness is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Angola
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Flint
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Flint is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
- East Gilead
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- East Gilead is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gilead
- Orland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Ellis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ellis is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
- Gilead
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Gilead is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Bethel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Bethel is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Salem Center
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Salem Center is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem Center
- Pleasant Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Ray
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ray is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Greenfield Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- Hatmaker
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Hatmaker is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- California
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- California is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Lake James. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lake James.
Newspapers Published in Lake James ...
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 124 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lake James.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lake James, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lake James.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Lake James:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Steuben County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- DeKalb County
- LaGrange County
- Noble County
- Branch County
- Calhoun County
- Hillsdale County
- Saint Joseph 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 Lake James, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Lake James) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |