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 Star Mill (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 Star Mill. 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.
Name Variations for Star Mill ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Star Mill: Star Ml. (or less commonly used: Star Mll.)
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Star Mill 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 Star Mill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Star Mill:
- LaGrange County (The home county of Star Mill)
- The following are listed by their distance from Star Mill, with the one closest to Star Mill listed first.
- Howe
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Seyberts
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Seyberts is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyberts
- Brighton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Brighton is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- LaGrange
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Scott
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Scott is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott
- Plato
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Plato is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato
- Shipshewana
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mongo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Greenfield Mills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- Valentine
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- Brushy Prairie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Brushy Prairie is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Prairie
- Topeka
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Star Mill, with the one closest to Star Mill listed first.
- Ashley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fairfield Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fairfield Center is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Center
- Corunna
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Corunna is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Altona
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Altona is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altona
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Waterloo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Elkhart County
- The following are listed by their distance from Star Mill, with the one closest to Star Mill listed first.
- Middlebury
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Bristol
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Millersburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Benton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Benton is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Goshen
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Garden Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Garden Village is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Village
- Bainter Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bainter Town is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainter Town
- New Paris
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dunlap
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Dunlap is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap
- Simonton Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Simonton Lake is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simonton Lake
- Elkhart
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Foraker
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Foraker is located in Elkhart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foraker
- Kosciusko County
- The following are listed by their distance from Star Mill, with the one closest to Star Mill listed first.
- Syracuse
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wawasee Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wawasee Village is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wawasee Village
- Milford Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Milford Junction is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford Junction
- Noble County
- The following are listed by their distance from Star Mill, with the one closest to Star Mill listed first.
- Cosperville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Cosperville is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosperville
- Rome City
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Wawaka
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Brimfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Brimfield is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
- Ligonier
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Wakeville Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wakeville Village is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakeville Village
- Kendallville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Albion
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Kimmell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Cromwell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Port Mitchell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Port Mitchell is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Mitchell
- Avilla
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Steuben County
- The following are listed by their distance from Star Mill, with the one closest to Star Mill listed first.
- Orland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Jamestown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Jamestown is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Angola
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Hudson
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Lake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Fremont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Ray
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Ray is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Russels Point
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Russels Point is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russels Point
- Hamilton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hamilton is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,595 people
- Branch County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Star Mill, with the one closest to Star Mill listed first.
- Gilead
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Gilead is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Bronson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hatmaker
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hatmaker is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- Matteson
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Matteson is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matteson
- Batavia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Batavia is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Sherwood
(20 miles [32.2 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
- Canada Shores
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Canada Shores is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Shores
- Coldwater
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hodunk
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hodunk is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodunk
- Trailtree Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Trailtree Village is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailtree Village
- Union City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Girard
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Girard is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard
- Calhoun County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Star Mill, with the one closest to Star Mill listed first.
- Athens
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Burlington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Burlington is located in Calhoun County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 277 people
- Cass County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Star Mill, with the one closest to Star Mill listed first.
- Corey
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Corey is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corey
- Jones
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Union
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Marcellus
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Vandalia
(27 miles [43.5 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
- Wakelee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wakelee is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakelee
- Brownsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Brownsville is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Penn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Penn is located in Cass County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn
- Kalamazoo County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Star Mill, with the one closest to Star Mill listed first.
- Fulton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Fulton is located in Kalamazoo County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Vicksburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Schoolcraft
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Saint Joseph County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Star Mill, with the one closest to Star Mill listed first.
- Sturgis
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- 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>
- Fawn River
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Fawn River is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn River
- Klingers
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Klingers is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klingers
- Bluff Beach
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bluff Beach is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Beach
- Oakwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Oakwood is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Burr Oak
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Findley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Findley is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Findley
- White Pigeon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Nottawa
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Centreville
(13 miles [20.9 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
- Wasepi
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Wasepi is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasepi
- Constantine
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Star Mill, see our County-by-County Page for Star Mill.
Cemeteries Near Star Mill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Star Mill.
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 Star Mill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Star Mill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Star Mill, with the one closest to Star Mill listed first.
- Oaklawn Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Riverside Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sturgis Memorial Gardens Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Lawn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Eagley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- 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]<2> 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 <3>
- Hoagland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Ontario Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bontragger Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Bontrager Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Barton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Sidener Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Bethel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (308 more) ...
- Fawn River Village Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- McCoy Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Eagle Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
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>
While we didn't find Star Mill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Star Mill.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Star Mill, with the one closest to Star Mill listed first.
- Sturgis
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- 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>
- Seyberts
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Seyberts is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyberts
- Ontario
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ontario is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
- Fawn River
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Fawn River is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn River
- LaGrange
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Brighton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Brighton is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Scott
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Scott is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott
- Shipshewana
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mongo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Burr Oak
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Emma
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Emma is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emma
- Valentine
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Greenfield Mills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- Findley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Findley is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Findley
- White Pigeon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Star Mill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Star Mill.
Newspapers Published in Star Mill ...
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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Star Mill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Star Mill, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Star Mill.
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 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 Star Mill:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to LaGrange County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- DeKalb County
- Elkhart County
- Kosciusko County
- Noble County
- Steuben County
- Branch County
- Calhoun 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Star Mill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Star Mill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |