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 Otsego Center (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 Otsego Center. 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 Otsego Center ...
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 Otsego Center: Otsego Ctr. (or less commonly used: Otsego Cen., Otsego Cent. or Otsego Cntr.)
You might see Otsego Centre instead of Otsego Center.
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.
For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.
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 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.
Otsego Center 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 Otsego Center. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Otsego Center:
- Steuben County (The home county of Otsego Center)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego Center, with the one closest to Otsego Center listed first.
- Russels Point
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Russels Point is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russels Point
- Hamilton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Hamilton is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,595 people
- Alvarado
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Alvarado is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- Pleasant Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Angola
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- York
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- York is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Hudson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Fremont
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Clear Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Clear Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Ray
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Ray is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Jamestown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jamestown is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Orland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Allen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego Center, with the one closest to Otsego Center listed first.
- Leo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Grabill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Harlan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Leo-Cedarville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Leo-Cedarville is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leo-Cedarville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,882 people
- Ari
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ari is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ari
- Huntertown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego Center, with the one closest to Otsego Center listed first.
- Ashley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Butler
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Waterloo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Moore
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Moore is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore
- Fairfield Center
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fairfield Center is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Center
- Corunna
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Corunna is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Auburn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Concord
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Concord is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Saint Joe
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Spencerville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Altona
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Altona is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altona
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Garrett
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- LaGrange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego Center, with the one closest to Otsego Center listed first.
- Stroh
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Stroh is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroh
- Gravel Beach
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Gravel Beach is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Beach
- Brushy Prairie
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Brushy Prairie is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Prairie
- South Milford
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- South Milford is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Milford
- Greenfield Mills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- Mongo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Plato
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Plato is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato
- Brighton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Brighton is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Wolcottville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Valentine
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- LaGrange
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Howe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Noble County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego Center, with the one closest to Otsego Center 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
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Avilla
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Laotto
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Rome City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Brimfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Brimfield is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
- Ege
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ege is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ege
- Albion
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Green Center
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Green Center is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Center
- Cosperville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Cosperville is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosperville
- Wawaka
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Branch County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego Center, with the one closest to Otsego Center listed first.
- Ray
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Canada Shores
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Canada Shores is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Shores
- Gilead
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Gilead is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Fisher
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Fisher is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
- Hatmaker
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hatmaker is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- Coldwater
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Quincy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Batavia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Batavia is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Bronson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Trailtree Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Trailtree Village is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailtree Village
- Matteson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Matteson is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matteson
- Hillsdale County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego Center, with the one closest to Otsego Center listed first.
- Camden
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Montgomery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Montgomery is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
- Reading
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Frontier
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Frontier is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frontier
- Buckeye ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Buckeye is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
- Ransom
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Ransom is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ransom
- Shadyside
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Shadyside is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadyside
- Steamburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Steamburg is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steamburg
- Allen
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- 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>
- Lickly Corners
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lickly Corners is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickly Corners
- Waldron
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Waldron is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 521 people
- Hillsdale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Joseph County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego Center, with the one closest to Otsego Center listed first.
- Fawn River
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fawn River is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn River
- Burr Oak
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sturgis
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- 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>
- Defiance County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego Center, with the one closest to Otsego Center listed first.
- Hicksville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Ney
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- 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>
- Sherwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fulton County (OH)
- Fayette
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Paulding County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego Center, with the one closest to Otsego Center listed first.
- Link ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Link is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Link
- Antwerp
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Knoxdale ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Knoxdale is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knoxdale
- New Rochester ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- New Rochester is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Rochester
- Cecil
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cecil is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- Emmett
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Emmett is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmett
- Emmett has also been known as:
- Emerald Station
- Emerald
- Williams County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego Center, with the one closest to Otsego Center listed first.
- Edon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- 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>
- Columbia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Columbia is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia
- Blakeslee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Cooney
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cooney is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooney
- Denmark ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Denmark is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Edgerton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ainger
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Ainger is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ainger
- Northwest
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Northwest is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwest
- Melbern
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Melbern is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbern
- Jim Town
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Jim Town is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jim Town
- Montpelier
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Holiday City
(18 miles [29 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
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Otsego Center, see our County-by-County Page for Otsego Center.
Cemeteries Near Otsego Center ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Otsego Center.
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 Otsego Center - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Otsego Center covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Otsego Center, with the one closest to Otsego Center listed first.
- Otsego Center Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Teegardin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Hamilton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- North Otsgeo Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Carter Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- South Scott Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Eddy Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Circle Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Matson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Lake Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Barkers Chapel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (317 more) ...
- Boisher Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Ligett Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Old Circle Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
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 Otsego Center in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Otsego Center.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Otsego Center, with the one closest to Otsego Center listed first.
- Hamilton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Hamilton is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,595 people
- Alvarado
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Alvarado is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- Metz
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Metz is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metz
- Ellis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Ellis is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
- Pleasant Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Angola
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Summit
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Summit is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Edon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- 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>
- Artic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Artic is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artic
- Hudson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Blakeslee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Butler
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Cooney
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cooney is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooney
- Waterloo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Edgerton
(11 miles [17.7 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 Otsego Center. See our List of 1890's Communities around Otsego Center.
Newspapers Published in Otsego Center ...
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 108 newspapers that have been published in the area around Otsego Center.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Otsego Center, 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 Otsego Center.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Otsego Center:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Steuben County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allen County
- DeKalb County
- LaGrange County
- Noble County
- Branch County
- Hillsdale County
- Saint Joseph County
- Defiance County
- Fulton County
- Paulding 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 Otsego Center, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Otsego Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |