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 Rockford (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 Rockford. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.
Rockford is located in Wells 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 Wells County: Adams, Allen, Blackford, Grant, Huntington & Jay.
Below are the counties that are near Rockford. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rockford:
- Wells County (The home county of Rockford)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
- Liberty Center
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty Center is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Center
- Uniondale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bluffton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- North Oaks
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- North Oaks is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Oaks
- Travisville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Travisville is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travisville
- Greenville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Greenville is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Poneto
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Poneto is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poneto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
- Zanesville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Craigville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Craigville is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigville
- Ossian
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Keystone
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Keystone is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone
- Reiffsburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Reiffsburg is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reiffsburg
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
- Honduras
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Honduras is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honduras
- Magley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Magley is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magley
- Preble
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Linn Grove
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Linn Grove is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linn Grove
- Coppess Corner
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Coppess Corner is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppess Corner
- Berne
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Monroe
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Decatur
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Geneva
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Mills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Allen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
- Yoder
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Aboite
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Aboite is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aboite
- Indian Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Indian Village is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Hoagland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Anthony Wayne Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Arcola
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Fort Wayne
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- New Haven
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Monroeville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Dunn Mill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Dunn Mill is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn Mill
- Wallen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Wallen is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallen
- Hacienda Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hacienda Village is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hacienda Village
- Blackford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
- Montpelier
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Mollie ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Mollie is located in Blackford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mollie
- Renner ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Renner is located in Blackford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renner
- Hartford City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Ridertown
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Ridertown is located in Blackford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridertown
- Millgrove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Millgrove is located in Blackford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millgrove
- Shamrock Lakes
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Shamrock Lakes is located in Blackford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Delaware County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
- Eaton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Janney
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Janney is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janney
- Granville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Granville is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Former name for Granville:
- Weaton
- Grant County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
- Farrville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Farrville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrville
- Van Buren
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Van Buren is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Buren
- Population from the 2020 Census: 815 people
- Friendly Corner
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Friendly Corner is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendly Corner
- Arcana
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Arcana is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcana
- Upland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gas City
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Marion
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Jalapa
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Jalapa is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jalapa
- Jonesboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Michaelsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Michaelsville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michaelsville
- Matthews
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Matthews is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matthews
- Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
- Fowlerton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fowlerton is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowlerton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 250 people
- Huntington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
- Markle
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Plum Tree
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Plum Tree is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Tree
- Warren
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Majenica
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Majenica is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Majenica
- River
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- River is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River
- Bowerstown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bowerstown is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowerstown
- Huntington
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Harlansburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Harlansburg is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlansburg
- Mount Etna
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Mount Etna is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Etna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
- Roanoke
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Monument City ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Monument City is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monument City
- Andrews
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
- Fiat
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fiat is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiat
- Pennville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bloomfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bloomfield is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
- Bryant
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pony
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pony is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pony
- Antiville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Antiville is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antiville
- Greene
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Greene is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greene
- Dunkirk
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Jay City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jay City is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jay City
- Blaine
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Blaine is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
- Portland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Trinity
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Trinity is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity
- Wabash County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
- Lincolnville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Lincolnville is located in Wabash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnville
- La Fontaine
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- La Fontaine is located in Wabash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Fontaine
- Population from the 2020 Census: 810 people
- Lagro
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Treaty
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Treaty is located in Wabash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Treaty
- Servia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Servia is located in Wabash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Servia
- Urbana
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Wabash
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Somerset
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Somerset is located in Wabash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset
- Liberty Mills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty Mills is located in Wabash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Mills
- North Manchester
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Whitley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
- Luther
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Luther is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther
- Dunfee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Dunfee is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunfee
- South Whitley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Collamer
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Collamer is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collamer
- Columbia City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Collins
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Collins is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Mercer County (OH)
- Skeels Crossroads
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Skeels Crossroads is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skeels Crossroads
- Van Wert County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
- Willshire
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Wren
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Wren is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren
- Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wren <1>
- Dixon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dixon is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
- Schumm
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Schumm is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schumm
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rockford, see our County-by-County Page for Rockford.
Cemeteries Near Rockford ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rockford.
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 Rockford - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rockford covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
- Spider Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mossburg Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Sparks Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Yankeetown Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Thompson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Horeb Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- West Union Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- McFarren Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Murray Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Barnes Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Star of Hope Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (256 more) ...
- Fair View Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Old Bluffton Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Rees Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
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 Rockford in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rockford.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rockford, with the one closest to Rockford listed first.
- Plum Tree
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Plum Tree is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Tree
- Markle
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Liberty Center
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty Center is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Center
- Buckeye
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Buckeye is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
- Murray
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Murray is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray
- Uniondale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Browns Corner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Browns Corner is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Corner
- Warren
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Zion
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mount Zion is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Bluffton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Majenica
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Majenica is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Majenica
- Poneto
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Poneto is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poneto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Kingsland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Kingsland is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsland
- Simpson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Simpson is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Milo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Milo is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rockford. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rockford.
Newspapers Published in Rockford ...
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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rockford.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rockford, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rockford.
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 either 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 Rockford:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Wells County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- Allen County
- Blackford County
- Delaware County
- Grant County
- Huntington County
- Jay County
- Wabash County
- Whitley County
- Mercer County
- Van Wert 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 Rockford, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rockford) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |