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 Salem (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 Salem. 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 and doctors 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.
Salem is located in Adams 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 Adams County: Allen, Jay, Wells, Mercer (OH) & Van Wert (OH).
Below are the counties that are near Salem. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Salem:
- Adams County (The home county of Salem)
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Pleasant Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Monroe
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Coppess Corner
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Coppess Corner is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppess Corner
- Berne
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Decatur
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Geneva
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Honduras
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Honduras is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honduras
- Linn Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Linn Grove is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linn Grove
- Preble
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Magley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Magley is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magley
- Allen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Dixon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Dixon is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
- Monroeville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Hoagland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Zulu
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Zulu is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zulu
- Yoder
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Edgerton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Edgerton is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
- New Haven
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Anthony Wayne Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Woodburn
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Fort Wayne
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Indian Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Indian Village is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Hacienda Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- 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 Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Montpelier
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ridertown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ridertown is located in Blackford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridertown
- Mollie ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mollie is located in Blackford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mollie
- Millgrove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Millgrove is located in Blackford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millgrove
- Huntington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Markle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Plum Tree
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Plum Tree is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Tree
- Warren
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Jay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Jay City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Jay City is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jay City
- Trinity
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Trinity is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity
- Bryant
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bloomfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bloomfield is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
- Antiville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Antiville is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antiville
- Fiat
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Fiat is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiat
- Portland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Pennville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pony
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pony is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pony
- Salamonia
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Salamonia is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salamonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
- Collett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Collett is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collett
- Blaine
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Blaine is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
- Greene
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Greene is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greene
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- New Pittsburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- New Pittsburg is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Pittsburg
- Ridgeville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Ridgeville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 734 people
- Wells County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Vera Cruz
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Vera Cruz is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vera Cruz
- Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
- Craigville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Craigville is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigville
- Tocsin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Tocsin is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tocsin
- Phenix
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Phenix is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phenix
- Bluffton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Reiffsburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Reiffsburg is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reiffsburg
- Petroleum
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Petroleum is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petroleum
- North Oaks
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- North Oaks is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Oaks
- Nottingham
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Nottingham is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nottingham
- Travisville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Travisville is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travisville
- Ossian
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Poneto
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Poneto is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poneto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
- Greenville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Greenville is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Allen County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Landeck
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Landeck is located in Allen County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landeck
- Spencerville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Southworth
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Southworth is located in Allen County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southworth
- Delphos
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Conant
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Conant is located in Allen County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
- Auglaize County (OH)
- Saint Marys
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Darke County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- New Weston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lightsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lightsville is located in Darke County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lightsville
- North Star
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mercer County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Rockford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Skeels Crossroads
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Skeels Crossroads is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skeels Crossroads
- Scudder
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Scudder is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scudder
- Tama
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Tama is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tama
- Wabash
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Wabash is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabash
- Mercer
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Mercer is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercer
- Earley ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Earley is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earley
- Mendon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Macedon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Macedon is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedon
- Celina
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Coldwater
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Recovery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Montezuma
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Montezuma is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montezuma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
- Paulding County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Batson ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Batson is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batson
- McGill ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- McGill is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGill
- Tipton ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Tipton is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Payne
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Payne is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Payne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,132 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Payne <1>
- Folmer ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Folmer is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folmer
- Haviland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Haviland is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haviland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 202 people
- Worstville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Worstville is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worstville
- Dague ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dague is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dague
- Grover Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Grover Hill is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 377 people
- Latty
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Latty is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latty
- Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
- Broughton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Broughton is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broughton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
- Putnam County (OH)
- Ottoville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Van Wert County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Willshire
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Schumm
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Schumm is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schumm
- Wren
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- 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>
- Abanaka
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Abanaka is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abanaka
- Glenmore
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Glenmore is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmore
- Ohio City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Convoy
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dixon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Dixon is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
- Van Wert
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Elgin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Elgin is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Venedocia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Venedocia is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venedocia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
- Converse Station
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Converse Station is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse Station
- Converse
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Converse is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Salem, see our County-by-County Page for Salem.
Cemeteries Near Salem ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Salem.
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 Salem - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Salem covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Tricker Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Duck Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Willshire Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Smith Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Graber Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Schwartz Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Crawford Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Coats Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Mt. Tabor Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mazelin Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Zion Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (304 more) ...
- Smith Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Fletcher Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Old Mt. Tabor Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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>
While we didn't find Salem in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Salem.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Willshire
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Monroe
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Berne
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Chattanooga
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Chattanooga is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattanooga
- Schumm
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Schumm is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schumm
- Rivare
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Rivare is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivare
- Wren
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- 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>
- Brehm ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Brehm is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brehm
- Decatur
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Abanaka
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Abanaka is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abanaka
- Ceylon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ceylon is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Geneva
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Glenmore
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Glenmore is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmore
- Honduras
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Honduras is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honduras
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Salem. See our List of 1890's Communities around Salem.
Newspapers Published in Salem ...
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 140 newspapers that have been published in the area around Salem.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Salem, 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 Salem.
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 Salem:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Adams County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allen County
- Blackford County
- Huntington County
- Jay County
- Randolph County
- Wells County
- Allen County
- Auglaize County
- Darke County
- Mercer County
- Paulding County
- Putnam 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 Salem, 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- Salem) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |