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 Ontario (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 Ontario. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
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 north 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.
Ontario is located in LaGrange 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 LaGrange County: Elkhart, Noble, Steuben, Branch (MI) & Saint Joseph (MI).
Below are the counties that are near Ontario. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ontario:
- LaGrange County (The home county of Ontario)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
- Howe
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Brighton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Brighton is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Plato
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Plato is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato
- LaGrange
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mongo
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Seyberts
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Seyberts is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyberts
- Valentine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- Greenfield Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- Brushy Prairie
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Brushy Prairie is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Prairie
- Scott
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Scott is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott
- Shipshewana
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Wolcottville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Stroh
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Stroh is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroh
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
- Ashley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fairfield Center
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fairfield Center is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Center
- Corunna
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Corunna is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Altona
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Altona is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altona
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Waterloo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Garrett
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Auburn
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Moore
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Moore is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore
- Elkhart County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
- Middlebury
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Millersburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bristol
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Benton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Benton is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Goshen
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Bainter Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bainter Town is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainter Town
- New Paris
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Garden Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Garden Village is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Village
- Dunlap
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Dunlap is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap
- Foraker
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Foraker is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foraker
- Elkhart
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Simonton Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Simonton Lake is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simonton Lake
- Kosciusko County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
- Syracuse
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wawasee Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wawasee Village is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wawasee Village
- Milford Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Milford Junction is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford Junction
- North Webster
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Noble County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
- Rome City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Cosperville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Cosperville is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosperville
- Brimfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Brimfield is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
- Wakeville Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Wakeville Village is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakeville Village
- Wawaka
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Kendallville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Ligonier
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Albion
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Kimmell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Port Mitchell
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Port Mitchell is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Mitchell
- Cromwell
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Avilla
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Indian Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Indian Village is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Steuben County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
- Orland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Jamestown
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Jamestown is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Hudson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Angola
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Fremont
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Russels Point
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Russels Point is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russels Point
- Ray
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Ray is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Hamilton
(26 miles [41.8 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
- Clear Lake
(28 miles [45.1 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
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- York is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Alvarado
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Alvarado is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- Whitley County
- Ormas
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Ormas is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ormas
- Branch County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
- Gilead
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Gilead is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Bronson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hatmaker
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hatmaker is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- Matteson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Matteson is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matteson
- Batavia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Batavia is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Sherwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Sherwood is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
- Canada Shores
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Canada Shores is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Shores
- Coldwater
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ray
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Trailtree Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Trailtree Village is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailtree Village
- Hodunk
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hodunk is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodunk
- Fisher
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fisher is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
- Union City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Calhoun County (MI)
- Athens
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Cass County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
- Corey
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Corey is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corey
- Jones
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Union
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Hillsdale County (MI)
- Montgomery
(30 miles [48.3 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
- Kalamazoo County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
- Fulton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Fulton is located in Kalamazoo County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Vicksburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Saint Joseph County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
- Fawn River
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Fawn River is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn River
- Sturgis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- 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>
- Klingers
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Klingers is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klingers
- Burr Oak
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Oakwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Oakwood is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Bluff Beach
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bluff Beach is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Beach
- Findley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Findley is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Findley
- White Pigeon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Nottawa
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Wasepi
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Wasepi is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasepi
- Fairfax
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Fairfax is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax
- Centreville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Centreville is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,400 people
- Constantine
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Williams County (OH)
- Columbia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Columbia is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ontario, see our County-by-County Page for Ontario.
Cemeteries Near Ontario ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ontario.
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 Ontario - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ontario covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
- Ontario Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Hoagland Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- McCoy Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Eagle Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bontragger Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bontrager Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Oaklawn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bethel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- County Farm Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Sturgis Memorial Gardens Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (305 more) ...
- Mongo Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- K of P Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Fawn River Village Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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 Ontario had a population of 239 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
- Brighton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Brighton is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- LaGrange
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mongo
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Fawn River
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Fawn River is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn River
- Sturgis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- 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>
- Seyberts
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Seyberts is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyberts
- Valentine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- Brushy Prairie
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Brushy Prairie is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Prairie
- Greenfield Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- Woodruff
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Woodruff is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodruff
- Mount Pisgah
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Pisgah is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pisgah
- Scott
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Scott is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Shipshewana
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Emma
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Emma is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emma
- Burr Oak
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ontario. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ontario.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ontario ...
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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ontario.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ontario. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ontario and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ontario.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<3> of Ontario.
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 Ontario:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to LaGrange County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- DeKalb County
- Elkhart County
- Kosciusko County
- Noble County
- Steuben County
- Whitley County
- Branch County
- Calhoun County
- Cass County
- Hillsdale County
- Kalamazoo 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> | 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 Ontario, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ontario) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |