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 Pleasant Ridge (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 Pleasant Ridge. 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 Pleasant Ridge ...
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 Pleasant Ridge: Pleasant Rdg. (or less commonly used: Pleasant Rdge. or Pleasant Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Pleasant Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Pleasant Ridge.
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.
Pleasant Ridge is located in Jasper 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 Jasper County: Benton, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, Starke & White.
Below are the counties that are near Pleasant Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pleasant Ridge:
- Jasper County (The home county of Pleasant Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Rensselaer
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Collegeville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Collegeville is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collegeville
- Egypt
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Egypt is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
- Gifford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Gifford is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gifford
- Remington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Fair Oaks
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Virgie
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Virgie is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virgie
- Stoutsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Stoutsburg is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoutsburg
- Wheatfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- DeMotte
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- DeMotte is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeMotte
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,172 people
- DeMotte has also been known as:
- De Motte
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for DeMotte <1>
- Tefft
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Tefft is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tefft
- Forest City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Forest City is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
- Benton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Wadena
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Wadena is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadena
- Earl Park
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Earl Park is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earl Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 342 people
- Gravel Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Gravel Hill is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Hill
- Fowler
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Raub
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Raub is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raub
- Atkinson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Atkinson is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson
- Oxford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Templeton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Templeton is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Templeton
- Otterbein
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Yeoman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Yeoman is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yeoman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Pittsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pittsburg is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
- Cass County
- Royal Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Lake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Shelby
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Shelby is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
- Schneider
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Schneider is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schneider
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Dinwiddie
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dinwiddie is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dinwiddie
- Illinoi
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Illinoi is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illinoi
- Lowell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- LaPorte County
- La Crosse
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Newton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Mount Ayr
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Mount Ayr is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Ayr
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Foresman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Foresman is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foresman
- Brook
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Goodland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Beaver City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Beaver City is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver City
- Roselawn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Roselawn is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roselawn
- Newton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Newton is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
- Morocco
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Thayer
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Thayer is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thayer
- Kentland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lake Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Village is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Village
- Sumava Resorts
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Porter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Aylesworth
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Aylesworth is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aylesworth
- Kouts
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Hebron
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Boone Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Boone Grove is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boone Grove
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Francesville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Medaryville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Denham
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Denham is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denham
- Winamac
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Star City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Thornhope
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Thornhope is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornhope
- Former names for Thornhope:
- Parisville
- Rosedale
- Thornhope has also been known as:
- Oak
- Beardstown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Beardstown is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beardstown
- Lawton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Lawton is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
- Starke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- San Pierre
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- North Judson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Aldine
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Aldine is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldine
- Toto
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Toto is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toto
- Bass Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bass Lake is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bass Lake
- White County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Lee
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lee is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
- Monon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wolcott
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Reynolds
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Buffalo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Buffalo is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
- Indiana Beach
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Indiana Beach is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indiana Beach
- Sitka
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Sitka is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
- Norway
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Norway is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norway
- Monticello
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Headlee
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Headlee is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headlee
- Chalmers
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Chalmers is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalmers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 493 people
- Brookston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Idaville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Idaville is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idaville
- Iroquois County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Effner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Effner is located in Iroquois County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Effner
- Sheldon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Iroquois
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Donovan
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Beaverville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Kankakee County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Illiana Heights
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Illiana Heights is located in Kankakee County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illiana Heights
- Illinoi
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Illinoi is located in Kankakee County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illinoi
- Hopkins Park
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Hopkins Park is located in Kankakee County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopkins Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 608 people
- Hopkins Park has also been known as:
- Hopkins Park village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hopkins Park <1>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pleasant Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Pleasant Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Pleasant Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pleasant Ridge.
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 Pleasant Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pleasant Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Crockett Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Lefler Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Rees Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Parkison Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Hankle Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Smith Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Milroy Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Brown Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Weston Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Weston Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Rensselaer.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #87356 <2>
- Osborne Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Price Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (137 more) ...
- Old Settlers Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Memory Gardens Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Prater Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Pleasant Ridge had a population of 47 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Rensselaer
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Lee
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lee is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
- Surrey
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Surrey is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surrey
- Francesville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Monon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Ayr
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Mount Ayr is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Ayr
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Foresman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Foresman is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foresman
- Remington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Wolcott
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Seafield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Seafield is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seafield
- Virgie
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Virgie is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virgie
- Medaryville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Fair Oaks
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Kniman
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Kniman is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kniman
- Brook
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pleasant Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pleasant Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Pleasant Ridge ...
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 137 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pleasant Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pleasant Ridge, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pleasant Ridge.
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 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 Pleasant Ridge:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Jasper County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Benton County
- Carroll County
- Cass County
- Lake County
- LaPorte County
- Newton County
- Porter County
- Pulaski County
- Starke County
- White County
- Iroquois County
- Kankakee 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 Pleasant Ridge, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Pleasant Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |