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 Preston (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 Preston. 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 southwest 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 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.
Preston is located in Vigo 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 Vigo County: Clark (IL), Edgar (IL), Clay, Parke, Sullivan & Vermillion.
Below are the counties that are near Preston. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Preston:
- Vigo County (The home county of Preston)
- The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
- Terre Town
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Terre Town is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terre Town
- North Terre Haute
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- North Terre Haute is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Terre Haute
- Spelterville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Spelterville is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spelterville
- Harrison
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Harrison is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Terre Haute
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Barnhart Town
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Barnhart Town is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnhart Town
- Burnett
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Burnett is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnett
- Sandcut
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sandcut is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandcut
- Glen Ayre
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Glen Ayre is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Ayre
- Taylorville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Taylorville is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorville
- Seelyville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Seelyville is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seelyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,004 people
- Swalls
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Swalls is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swalls
- Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
- Cloverland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Cloverland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverland
- Billtown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Billtown is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billtown
- Staunton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Staunton is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staunton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 502 people
- Bee Ridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Bee Ridge is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee Ridge
- Turner
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Turner is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner
- Perth
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Perth is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perth
- Cory
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cory is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cory
- Billville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Billville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billville
- Brazil
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Art
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Art is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Art
- Benwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Benwood is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benwood
- Prairie City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Prairie City is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie City
- Carbon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Carbon is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 379 people
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
- Jasonville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Gilmour
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Gilmour is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmour
- Midland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Midland is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
- Montgomery County
- Waveland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Owen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
- Denmark
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Denmark is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Coal City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Coal City is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Patricksburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Patricksburg is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patricksburg
- Atkinsonville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Atkinsonville is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinsonville
- Arney
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Arney is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arney
- Parke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
- West Atherton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- West Atherton is located in Parke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Atherton
- Numa
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Numa is located in Parke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Numa
- Rosedale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rosedale is located in Parke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 704 people
- Rosedale has also been known as:
- Roseville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rosedale <1>
- Bridgeton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mecca
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Mecca is located in Parke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mecca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 325 people
- Armiesburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Armiesburg is located in Parke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armiesburg
- Mansfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Montezuma
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Rockville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Billie Creek Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Ferndale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ferndale is located in Parke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferndale
- Nyesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Nyesville is located in Parke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nyesville
- Bellmore
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bellmore is located in Parke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellmore
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
- Reelsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Reelsville is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reelsville
- Portland Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Portland Mills is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland Mills
- Limedale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Limedale is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limedale
- Putnamville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Putnamville is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnamville
- Greencastle
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Cloverdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Sullivan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
- Farmersburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Fairbanks
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Fairbanks is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbanks
- Hymera
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Hymera is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hymera
- Population from the 2020 Census: 758 people
- Scott City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Scott City is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott City
- Shelburn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Graysville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Graysville is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graysville
- Sullivan
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Dugger
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Scotchtown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Scotchtown is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotchtown
- Vermillion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
- Universal
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Universal is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Universal
- Population from the 2020 Census: 339 people
- Clinton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Fairview Park
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Fairview Park is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,298 people
- Sandytown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Sandytown is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandytown
- Blanford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Blanford is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanford
- Summit Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Summit Grove is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Grove
- Saint Bernice
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Bernice is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Bernice
- Alta
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Alta is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta
- Hillsdale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Hillsdale is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Dana
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Dana is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 564 people
- Newport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Cayuga
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Clark County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
- Farrington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Farrington is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrington
- Dennison
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Dennison is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennison
- Weaver
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Weaver is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
- Livingston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Livingston is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
- Marshall
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Snyder
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Snyder is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snyder
- Clarksville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Clarksville is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
- Clark Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Clark Center is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark Center
- West Union
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- West Union is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
- York
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- York is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Melrose
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Melrose is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Martinsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cleone
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Cleone is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleone
- Crawford County (IL)
- West York
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Edgar County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
- Elbridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Elbridge is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbridge
- Vermilion
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Huffmanville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Huffmanville is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffmanville
- Kentucky
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Kentucky is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentucky
- Nevins
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Nevins is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevins
- Clays Prairie
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clays Prairie is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clays Prairie
- Oliver
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Oliver is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliver
- Kidley
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Kidley is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kidley
- Paris
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Logan
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bell Ridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Bell Ridge is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Ridge
- Raven
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Raven is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven
- Conlogue
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Conlogue is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conlogue
- Vermilion County (IL)
- Ridge Farm
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Preston, see our County-by-County Page for Preston.
Cemeteries Near Preston ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Preston.
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 Preston - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Preston covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
- Coltrin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Rogers Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Markles Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Calvary Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Highland Lawn Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Roberts Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Denny Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Chamberlain Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Haven Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kennedy Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Phillips Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (410 more) ...
- Roselawn Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Grandview Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hobmeyer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
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 Preston in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Preston.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
- Markles
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Markles is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markles
- Terre Haute
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Otter Creek Junction
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Burnett
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Burnett is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnett
- Tecumseh
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Tecumseh is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tecumseh
- Swalls
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Swalls is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swalls
- Seelyville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Seelyville is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seelyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,004 people
- Cloverland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Cloverland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverland
- Atherton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Atherton is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atherton
- New Goshen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Riley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Riley is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Fontanet
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Fontanet is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontanet
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Sandford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Sandford is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandford
- Farrington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Farrington is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrington
- Youngstown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Youngstown is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngstown
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Preston. See our List of 1890's Communities around Preston.
Newspapers Published in Preston ...
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 127 newspapers that have been published in the area around Preston.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Preston, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Preston.
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 helpful 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 Preston:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Vigo County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clay County
- Greene County
- Montgomery County
- Owen County
- Parke County
- Putnam County
- Sullivan County
- Vermillion County
- Clark County
- Crawford County
- Edgar County
- Vermilion 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 Preston, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Preston) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |