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 Valley (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 Valley. 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 Valley ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Pleasant Valley: Pleasant Vly. (or less commonly used: Pleasant Vally. or Pleasant Vlly.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Pleasant Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Pleasant Valley.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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 Valley 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 Pleasant Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pleasant Valley:
- Saint Joseph County (The home county of Pleasant Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Osceola
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Granger
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mishawaka
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Georgetown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Georgetown is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Indian Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Indian Village is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- 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
- South Bend
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Gulivoire Park
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gulivoire Park is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulivoire Park
- Wyatt
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Nutwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Nutwood is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutwood
- Lakeville
(15 miles [24.1 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
- Elkhart County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Jamestown
(4 miles [6.4 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)
- Simonton Lake
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Simonton Lake is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simonton Lake
- 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
- Dunlap
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Dunlap is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap
- Wakarusa
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Southwest
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Southwest is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwest
- Bristol
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Foraker
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Foraker is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foraker
- Goshen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Nappanee
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Bainter Town
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Bainter Town is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainter Town
- New Paris
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Kosciusko County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Milford Junction
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Milford Junction is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford Junction
- Milford
(22 miles [35.4 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
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wawasee Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wawasee Village is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wawasee Village
- Clunette
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Clunette is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clunette
- Leesburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Etna Green
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Atwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Atwood is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwood
- LaGrange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Shipshewana
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Scott
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Scott is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott
- Seyberts
(28 miles [45.1 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 Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Kankakee
(27 miles [43.5 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 Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Bremen
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- La Paz
(20 miles [32.2 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
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Harris is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
- Linkville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Linkville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linkville
- Tyner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Tyner is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyner
- Bourbon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Plymouth
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Donaldson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Donaldson is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
- Noble County
- Ligonier
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Starke County
- Koontz Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Koontz Lake is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koontz Lake
- Berrien County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Niles
(13 miles [20.9 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>
- Buchanan
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bakertown
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Bakertown is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakertown
- Berrien Center
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dayton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Dayton is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
- Berrien Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Eau Claire
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Galien
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Galien is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galien
- Population from the 2020 Census: 527 people
- Glendora
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Glendora is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendora
- Hills Corners
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hills Corners is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hills Corners
- Naomi
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Naomi is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naomi
- Hartman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hartman is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartman
- Avery
(26 miles [41.8 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 Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Edwardsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Union
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Brownsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Brownsville is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Cassopolis
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Pokagon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Pokagon is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pokagon
- Sumnerville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sumnerville is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumnerville
- Vandalia
(17 miles [27.4 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
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- La Grange is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Grange
- Penn
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Penn is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn
- Dowagiac
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Jones
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Corey
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Corey is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corey
- Wakelee
(22 miles [35.4 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 Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Mottville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mottville is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mottville
- White Pigeon
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Constantine
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Fabius
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Fabius is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fabius
- Oakwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Oakwood is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Bluff Beach
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Bluff Beach is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Beach
- Three Rivers
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Klingers
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Klingers is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klingers
- Chamberlain
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Chamberlain is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamberlain
- Van Buren County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Decatur
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Keeler
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Keeler is located in Van Buren County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeler
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pleasant Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Pleasant Valley.
Cemeteries Near Pleasant Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pleasant Valley.
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 Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pleasant Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Pleasant Valley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- St. Vincent Depaul Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Noffsinger Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Carlton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- 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>
- 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)
- Eutzler Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Harris Prairie Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Olive Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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>
- Continue List (283 more) ...
- Prairie Street Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Grace Lawn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Rice Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Rice Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Elkhart.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #86546 <2>
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 Pleasant Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pleasant Valley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Osceola
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Granger
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mishawaka
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Elkhart
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Adamsville
(7 miles [11.3 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
- Edwardsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- South Bend
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Woodland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Woodland is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
- Wakarusa
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Nutwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Nutwood is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutwood
- Southwest
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Southwest is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwest
- Union
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Bristol
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Dailey
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Dailey is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dailey
- Niles
(13 miles [20.9 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>
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pleasant Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pleasant Valley.
Newspapers Published in Pleasant Valley ...
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 130 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pleasant Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pleasant Valley, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pleasant Valley.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Pleasant Valley:
- 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
- Van Buren 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 Valley, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Pleasant Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |