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 Shipshewana (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 Shipshewana. 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.
Shipshewana is located in LaGrange 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 LaGrange County: Elkhart, Noble, Steuben, Branch (MI) & Saint Joseph (MI).
Below are the counties that are near Shipshewana. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Shipshewana:
- LaGrange County (The home county of Shipshewana)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shipshewana, with the one closest to Shipshewana listed first.
- Seyberts
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Seyberts is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyberts
- Scott
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Scott is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott
- Howe
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- LaGrange
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Topeka
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Valentine
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- Plato
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Plato is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato
- Brighton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Brighton is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Wolcottville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mongo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Brushy Prairie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Brushy Prairie is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Prairie
- Greenfield Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shipshewana, with the one closest to Shipshewana listed first.
- Fairfield Center
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fairfield Center is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Center
- Corunna
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Corunna is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Ashley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Elkhart County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shipshewana, with the one closest to Shipshewana listed first.
- Middlebury
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Millersburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bristol
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Benton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Benton is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Goshen
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bainter Town
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bainter Town is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainter Town
- New Paris
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Dunlap
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Dunlap is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap
- Garden Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Garden Village is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Village
- Elkhart
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Foraker
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Foraker is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foraker
- Simonton Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Simonton Lake is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simonton Lake
- Kosciusko County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shipshewana, with the one closest to Shipshewana listed first.
- Syracuse
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Wawasee Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wawasee Village is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wawasee Village
- Milford Junction
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Milford Junction is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford Junction
- Milford
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Milford is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,551 people
- North Webster
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Leesburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Arrowhead Park
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Arrowhead Park is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowhead Park
- Clunette
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Clunette is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clunette
- Noble County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shipshewana, with the one closest to Shipshewana listed first.
- Cosperville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Cosperville is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosperville
- Ligonier
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Wawaka
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Brimfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Brimfield is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
- Rome City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cromwell
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Kimmell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Albion
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Indian Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Indian Village is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Port Mitchell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Port Mitchell is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Mitchell
- Kendallville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wakeville Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wakeville Village is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakeville Village
- Saint Joseph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shipshewana, with the one closest to Shipshewana listed first.
- Osceola
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Granger
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Mishawaka
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Steuben County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shipshewana, with the one closest to Shipshewana listed first.
- Orland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Hudson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Angola
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Jamestown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Jamestown is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Pleasant Lake
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Whitley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shipshewana, with the one closest to Shipshewana listed first.
- Ormas
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Ormas is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ormas
- Etna
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Etna is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Cresco
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Cresco is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cresco
- Tri-Lakes
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Tri-Lakes is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tri-Lakes
- Branch County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shipshewana, with the one closest to Shipshewana listed first.
- Gilead
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Gilead is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Bronson
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Hatmaker
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hatmaker is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- Matteson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Matteson is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matteson
- Sherwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sherwood is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
- Batavia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Batavia is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Cass County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shipshewana, with the one closest to Shipshewana listed first.
- Union
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Corey
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Corey is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corey
- Jones
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Brownsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Brownsville is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Vandalia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Vandalia is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Penn
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Penn is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn
- Wakelee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wakelee is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakelee
- Cassopolis
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Marcellus
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Edwardsburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- La Grange
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- La Grange is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Grange
- Kalamazoo County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shipshewana, with the one closest to Shipshewana listed first.
- Schoolcraft
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Vicksburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Saint Joseph County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shipshewana, with the one closest to Shipshewana listed first.
- Klingers
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Klingers is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klingers
- Oakwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Oakwood is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Bluff Beach
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Bluff Beach is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Beach
- White Pigeon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Sturgis
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sturgis is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,803 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sturgis <1>
- Constantine
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mottville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mottville is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mottville
- Fawn River
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fawn River is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn River
- Centreville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Centreville is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,400 people
- Burr Oak
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fabius
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fabius is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fabius
- Findley
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Findley is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Findley
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Shipshewana, see our County-by-County Page for Shipshewana.
Cemeteries Near Shipshewana ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shipshewana.
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 Shipshewana - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Shipshewana covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Shipshewana, with the one closest to Shipshewana listed first.
- Lupold Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Keightley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Miller Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bontrager Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Pashan Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sidener Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- New Pennsylvania Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bontrager Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bethel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Bethel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Barton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Eldridge Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (300 more) ...
- Townline Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townline Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Townline Cemetery is located 6 miles [9.7 km]<3> to the northwest of Topeka.
- The Townline Cemetery has also been known as:
- Townline Mennonite Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #87173 <2>
- Eagley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagley Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Eagley Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the east of Scott.
- The Eagley Cemetery has also been known as:
- Callahan Cemetery
- Cowen Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2417739 <2>
- Mack Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Shipshewana had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Shipshewana had a population of 731 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Shipshewana, with the one closest to Shipshewana listed first.
- Seyberts
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Seyberts is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyberts
- Emma
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Emma is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emma
- Scott
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Scott is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott
- Middlebury
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- LaGrange
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- White Pigeon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Vistula
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Vistula is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vistula
- Ontario
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Ontario is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
- Valentine
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- Sturgis
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sturgis is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,803 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sturgis <1>
- Grismore
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Grismore is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grismore
- Constantine
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Mottville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mottville is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mottville
- Bristol
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Goshen
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Shipshewana. See our List of 1890's Communities around Shipshewana.
Newspapers Published in Shipshewana ...
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 68 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shipshewana.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shipshewana, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Shipshewana.
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 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 Shipshewana:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to LaGrange County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- DeKalb County
- Elkhart County
- Kosciusko County
- Noble County
- Saint Joseph County
- Steuben County
- Whitley County
- Branch County
- Cass County
- Kalamazoo County
- Saint Joseph 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Shipshewana) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Shipshewana, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |