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 Osceola (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 Osceola. 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.
Osceola is located in Saint Joseph 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 Saint Joseph County: Elkhart, LaPorte, Marshall, Starke, Berrien (MI) & Cass (MI).
Below are the counties that are near Osceola. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Osceola:
- Saint Joseph County (The home county of Osceola)
- The following are listed by their distance from Osceola, with the one closest to Osceola listed first.
- Mishawaka
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Granger
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Georgetown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Georgetown is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Indian Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Indian Village is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- South Bend
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Gulivoire Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Gulivoire Park is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulivoire Park
- Roseland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Roseland is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 635 people
- Wyatt
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Nutwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Nutwood is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutwood
- Lakeville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Crumstown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Crumstown is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crumstown
- Zeigler
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Zeigler is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zeigler
- North Liberty
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Elkhart County
- The following are listed by their distance from Osceola, with the one closest to Osceola listed first.
- Jamestown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jamestown is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Elkhart
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Dunlap
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Dunlap is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap
- Garden Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Garden Village is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Village
- Simonton Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Simonton Lake is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simonton Lake
- Wakarusa
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Southwest
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Southwest is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwest
- Foraker
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Foraker is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foraker
- Bristol
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Goshen
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Nappanee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Bainter Town
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bainter Town is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainter Town
- Gravelton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Gravelton is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravelton
- Kosciusko County
- The following are listed by their distance from Osceola, with the one closest to Osceola listed first.
- Milford Junction
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Milford Junction is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford Junction
- Milford
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Milford is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,551 people
- Syracuse
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Wawasee Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Wawasee Village is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wawasee Village
- Clunette
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Clunette is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clunette
- Leesburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Etna Green
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Atwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Atwood is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwood
- Arrowhead Park
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Arrowhead Park is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowhead Park
- North Webster
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- LaGrange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Osceola, with the one closest to Osceola listed first.
- Shipshewana
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Scott
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Scott is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott
- Seyberts
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Seyberts is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyberts
- Topeka
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- LaPorte County
- The following are listed by their distance from Osceola, with the one closest to Osceola listed first.
- Kankakee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Kankakee is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kankakee
- Rolling Prairie
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Stillwell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Stillwell is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stillwell
- Hesston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Hesston is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hesston
- Smith
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Smith is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Osceola, with the one closest to Osceola listed first.
- Bremen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- La Paz
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- La Paz is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Paz
- Population from the 2020 Census: 549 people
- Harris
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Harris is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
- Linkville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Linkville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linkville
- Tyner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Tyner is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyner
- Bourbon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Plymouth
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Donaldson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Donaldson is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
- Argos
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Old Tip Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Old Tip Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Tip Town
- Noble County
- The following are listed by their distance from Osceola, with the one closest to Osceola listed first.
- Ligonier
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cromwell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Indian Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Indian Village is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Starke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Osceola, with the one closest to Osceola listed first.
- Koontz Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Koontz Lake is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koontz Lake
- Grovertown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Grovertown is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grovertown
- Berrien County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Osceola, with the one closest to Osceola listed first.
- Niles
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Niles is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niles
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,093 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Niles <1>
- Bakertown
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Bakertown is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakertown
- Buchanan
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Dayton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dayton is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
- Berrien Center
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Berrien Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Galien
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Galien is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galien
- Population from the 2020 Census: 527 people
- Eau Claire
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Glendora
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Glendora is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendora
- Hills Corners
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hills Corners is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hills Corners
- Hartman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hartman is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartman
- Hinchman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hinchman is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinchman
- Avery
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Avery is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
- Cass County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Osceola, with the one closest to Osceola listed first.
- Edwardsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Union
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Brownsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Brownsville is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Cassopolis
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Pokagon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Pokagon is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pokagon
- Sumnerville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Sumnerville is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumnerville
- Vandalia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Vandalia is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- La Grange
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- La Grange is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Grange
- Penn
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Penn is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn
- Jones
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Dowagiac
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Corey
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Corey is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corey
- Wakelee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Wakelee is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakelee
- Saint Joseph County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Osceola, with the one closest to Osceola listed first.
- Mottville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Mottville is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mottville
- Constantine
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- White Pigeon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Fabius
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Fabius is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fabius
- Oakwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Oakwood is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Bluff Beach
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Bluff Beach is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Beach
- Klingers
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Klingers is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klingers
- Three Rivers
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Osceola, see our County-by-County Page for Osceola.
Cemeteries Near Osceola ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Osceola.
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 Osceola - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Osceola covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Osceola, with the one closest to Osceola listed first.
- Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Pleasant Valley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Noffsinger Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Eutzler Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Vincent Depaul Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Olive Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olive Cemetery
- The Olive Cemetery has also been known as:
- Dodge Cemetery
- Olive Mennonite Church Cemetery
- Shaum's Burying Ground
- Shaum's Meeting House Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #166695 <2>
- Carlton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Fairview Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Fairview Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Mishawaka.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #84982 <2>
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- City Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for City Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the City Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Mishawaka.
- The City Cemetery has also been known as:
- Misahwaka City Cemetery
- Mishawaka Cemetery
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Ferrisville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (275 more) ...
- Resthaven Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Prairie Street Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Grace Lawn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Osceola had a population of 126 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Osceola had a population of 2,486 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Osceola, with the one closest to Osceola listed first.
- Mishawaka
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Elkhart
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Granger
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Woodland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Woodland is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
- South Bend
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Wakarusa
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Edwardsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Adamsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Adamsville is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
- Former name for Adamsville:
- Sage's Mill
- Nutwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Nutwood is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutwood
- Southwest
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Southwest is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwest
- Foraker
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Foraker is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foraker
- Lakeville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Bristol
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Union
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Goshen
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Osceola. See our List of 1890's Communities around Osceola.
Newspapers Published in Osceola ...
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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Osceola.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Osceola, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Osceola.
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 Osceola:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Saint Joseph County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Elkhart County
- Kosciusko County
- LaGrange County
- LaPorte County
- Marshall County
- Noble County
- Starke County
- Berrien County
- Cass County
- Saint Joseph 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 Osceola, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Osceola) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |