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 Spencer (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 Spencer. 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 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.
Spencer is located in Owen County and is the County Seat.
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 Owen County: Clay, Greene, Monroe, Morgan & Putnam.
Below are the counties that are near Spencer. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Spencer:
- Owen County (The home county of Spencer)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Cuba
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Cuba is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Gosport
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Freedom
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Freedom is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom
- Atkinsonville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Atkinsonville is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinsonville
- Arney
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Arney is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arney
- Patricksburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Patricksburg is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patricksburg
- Quincy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Quincy is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
- Denmark
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Denmark is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Coal City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Coal City is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Brown County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Helmsburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Helmsburg is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helmsburg
- Beanblossom
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Beanblossom is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beanblossom
- Beanblossom has also been known as:
- Bean Blossom
- Nashville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Spearsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Spearsville is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spearsville
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Bowling Green
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bowling Green is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowling Green
- Poland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Center Point
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Clay City
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Roadman Corner
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Roadman Corner is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roadman Corner
- Eel River
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Eel River is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eel River
- Saline City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Saline City is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saline City
- Prairie City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Prairie City is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie City
- Howesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Howesville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howesville
- Art
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Art is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Art
- Harmony
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Harmony is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 639 people
- Knightsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Knightsville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knightsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 769 people
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Hendricksville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Hendricksville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendricksville
- Newark
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Newark is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
- Calvertville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Calvertville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvertville
- Solsberry
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Tulip
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Tulip is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulip
- Worthington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bloomfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Elliston
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Elliston is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliston
- Koleen
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Koleen is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koleen
- Mineral City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Mineral City is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral City
- Plummer
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Plummer is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plummer
- Switz City
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Hendricks County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Stilesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Hazelwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hazelwood is located in Hendricks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
- Coatesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Amo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Reno
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Reno is located in Hendricks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
- Clayton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Popcorn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Popcorn is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popcorn
- Springville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Springville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Guthrie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Guthrie is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guthrie
- Judah
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Judah is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judah
- Avoca
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Avoca is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Oolitic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fayetteville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Fayetteville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
- Silverville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Silverville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverville
- Martin County
- Crane
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Stinesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Stinesville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Ellettsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Highland Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Highland Village is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Village
- Dolan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Dolan is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolan
- Stanford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Stanford is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanford
- Bloomington
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Clear Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Clear Creek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Creek
- Kirksville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Kirksville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirksville
- Unionville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Smithville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Harrodsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Harrodsburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrodsburg
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Paragon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Lewisville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lewisville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
- Minetree ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Minetree is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minetree
- Minetree has also been known as:
- Billtown
- Meintree
- Menietree
- Eminence
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Eminence is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eminence
- Plano
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Plano is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
- Taggart Crossing ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Taggart Crossing is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taggart Crossing
- Martinsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wilbur
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wilbur is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbur
- Mahalasville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Mahalasville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahalasville
- Hall
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hall is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hall
- Monrovia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bethany
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bethany is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
- Population from the 2020 Census: 88 people
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Cloverdale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Belle Union
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Belle Union is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Union
- Putnamville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Putnamville is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnamville
- Reelsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Reelsville is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reelsville
- Limedale
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Limedale is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limedale
- Greencastle
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Fillmore
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Fillmore is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 531 people
- Sullivan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Hymera
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Hymera is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hymera
- Population from the 2020 Census: 758 people
- Dugger
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gambill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gambill is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gambill
- Vigo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Lewis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Lewis is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis
- Grange Corner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Grange Corner is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grange Corner
- Riley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Riley is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Glen Ayre
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Glen Ayre is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Ayre
- Seelyville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Seelyville is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seelyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,004 people
- Swalls
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Swalls is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swalls
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Spencer, see our County-by-County Page for Spencer.
Cemeteries Near Spencer ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Spencer.
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 Spencer - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Spencer covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Riverside Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- River Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Blair Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Rose Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Witham Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wright Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- White Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Scott Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- McKee Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fender Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Mt. Moriah Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Tipton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (364 more) ...
- Galimore Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- White Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Franklin Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
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 Spencer had a population of 1,868 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Spencer had a population of 2,262 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Romona
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Romona is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romona
- Vandalia
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Vandalia is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
- Cuba
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Cuba is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Adel
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Adel is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adel
- Freeman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Freeman is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Stinesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Stinesville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Carp
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Carp is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carp
- Freedom
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Freedom is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom
- Gosport
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Vilas
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Vilas is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vilas
- Whitehall
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Whitehall is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehall
- Ellettsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Atkinsonville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Atkinsonville is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinsonville
- Arney
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Arney is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arney
- McVille
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- McVille is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Spencer. See our List of 1890's Communities around Spencer.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Spencer ...
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 122 newspapers that have been published in the area around Spencer.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Spencer. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Spencer and those printed in the larger area surrounding Spencer.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<3> of Spencer.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Spencer:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Owen County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Brown County
- Clay County
- Greene County
- Hendricks County
- Lawrence County
- Martin County
- Monroe County
- Morgan County
- Putnam County
- Sullivan County
- Vigo 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> | 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 Spencer, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 from Point A (ie- Spencer) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |