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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 Sparksville (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 Sparksville. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.

Sparksville is located in Jackson 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 Jackson County: Bartholomew, Brown, Jennings, Lawrence, Scott & Washington.

Below are the counties that are near Sparksville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sparksville:

  • Jackson County     (The home county of Sparksville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparksville, with the one closest to Sparksville listed first.
    • Medora
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Medora is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medora
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 693 people
    • Vallonia
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Kurtz
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Kurtz is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kurtz
    • Norman
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Brownstown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Freetown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Houston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Houston is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
    • New Elizabethtown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • New Elizabethtown is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Elizabethtown
    • Dudleytown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Dudleytown is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudleytown
    • Spraytown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Spraytown is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spraytown
    • Cortland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Cortland is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cortland
    • Retreat
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Retreat is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Retreat
  • Bartholomew County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparksville, with the one closest to Sparksville listed first.
    • Jonesville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • North Ogilville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • North Ogilville is located in Bartholomew County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ogilville
    • Stony Lonesome
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Stony Lonesome is located in Bartholomew County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Lonesome
    • Bethel Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Bethel Village is located in Bartholomew County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel Village
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparksville, with the one closest to Sparksville listed first.
    • Becks Grove
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Becks Grove is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Becks Grove
    • Story
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Story is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Story
    • Pikes Peak
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Pikes Peak is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikes Peak
    • Gnaw Bone
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Mount Liberty
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Mount Liberty is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Liberty
    • Nashville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Clark County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparksville, with the one closest to Sparksville listed first.
    • Borden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • New Providence
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • New Providence is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Providence
    • Underwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Underwood is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Underwood
    • Broom Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Broom Hill is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broom Hill
    • Henryville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparksville, with the one closest to Sparksville listed first.
    • Marengo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Milltown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Dubois County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparksville, with the one closest to Sparksville listed first.
    • Hillham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Hillham is located in Dubois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillham
    • Norton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Norton is located in Dubois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton
  • Greene County
    • Owensburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Owensburg is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owensburg
  • Harrison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparksville, with the one closest to Sparksville listed first.
    • Palmyra
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Bradford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Bradford is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
    • Depauw
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Depauw is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Depauw
  • Jennings County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparksville, with the one closest to Sparksville listed first.
    • Four Corners
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Four Corners is located in Jennings County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
    • Hayden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Hayden is located in Jennings County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayden
  • Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparksville, with the one closest to Sparksville listed first.
    • Fort Ritner
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Fort Ritner is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Ritner
    • Leesville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Leesville is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
    • Bono
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Bono is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bono
    • Tunnelton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Tunnelton is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelton
    • Stonington
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Stonington is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonington
    • Lawrenceport
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Lawrenceport is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceport
    • Crawford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Crawford is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
    • Erie
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Erie is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
    • Spring Mill Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Spring Mill Village is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Mill Village
    • Zelma
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Zelma is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zelma
    • Heltonville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Mitchell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Martin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparksville, with the one closest to Sparksville listed first.
    • Mount Olive
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Mount Olive is located in Martin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
    • Lacy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Lacy is located in Martin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacy
    • Shoals
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparksville, with the one closest to Sparksville listed first.
    • Harrodsburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Harrodsburg is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrodsburg
    • Smithville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Clear Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Clear Creek is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Creek
    • Kirksville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Kirksville is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirksville
    • Bloomington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparksville, with the one closest to Sparksville listed first.
    • Leipsic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Leipsic is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leipsic
    • Bromer
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Bromer is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromer
    • Orleans
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Mahan Crossing
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Mahan Crossing is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahan Crossing
    • Trotter Crossing
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Trotter Crossing is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trotter Crossing
    • Chambersburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Chambersburg is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambersburg
    • Paoli
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Abydel
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Abydel is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abydel
    • Prospect
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Prospect is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect
    • West Baden Springs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • West Baden Springs is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Baden Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 557 people
    • Youngs Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Youngs Creek is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngs Creek
    • French Lick
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Scott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparksville, with the one closest to Sparksville listed first.
    • Austin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Marshfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Marshfield is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshfield
    • Scottsburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Albion
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Albion is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
    • Goshen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Goshen is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparksville, with the one closest to Sparksville listed first.
    • Campbellsburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Saltillo
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Saltillo is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saltillo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
    • Kossuth
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Kossuth is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kossuth
    • Plattsburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Plattsburg is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattsburg
    • Smedley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Smedley is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smedley
    • Claysville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Claysville is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claysville
    • Salem
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Salem is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,236 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Salem <1>
    • Livonia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Livonia is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livonia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
    • Harristown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Harristown is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harristown
    • Little York
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Little York is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little York
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
    • South Boston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • South Boston is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Boston
    • Hardinsburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sparksville, see our County-by-County Page for Sparksville.

Cemeteries Near Sparksville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sparksville.

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 Sparksville - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sparksville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sparksville, with the one closest to Sparksville listed first.

  • Stewart Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Thompson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Brown Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Pollock Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Shoemaker Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Wheeler Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Lanning Sput Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Holmes Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Hinderlider Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • New Hope Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Empson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (301 more) ...
    • Harrell Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Dodd Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Talbott Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)

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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Sparksville had a population of 58 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Sparksville, with the one closest to Sparksville listed first.

  • Fort Ritner
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Fort Ritner is located in Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Ritner
  • Medora
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Medora is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medora
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 693 people
  • Bono
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bono is located in Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bono
  • Leesville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Leesville is located in Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
  • Tunnelton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Tunnelton is located in Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelton
  • Rush Creek Valley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Rush Creek Valley is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush Creek Valley
  • Millport
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Millport is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millport
  • Campbellsburg
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Kossuth
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Kossuth is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kossuth
  • Vallonia
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Leipsic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Leipsic is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leipsic
  • Smedley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Smedley is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smedley
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Hitchcock
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Hitchcock is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hitchcock
    • Erie
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Erie is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
    • Claysville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Claysville is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claysville

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sparksville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sparksville.

Newspapers Published in Sparksville ...

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 77 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sparksville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sparksville, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sparksville.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Sparksville:

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>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 Sparksville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sparksville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.