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 Tefft (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 Tefft. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.
Tefft is located in Jasper 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 Jasper County: Benton, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, Starke & White.
Below are the counties that are near Tefft. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Tefft:
- Jasper County (The home county of Tefft)
- The following are listed by their distance from Tefft, with the one closest to Tefft listed first.
- Wheatfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Stoutsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Stoutsburg is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoutsburg
- Gifford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Gifford is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gifford
- DeMotte
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- DeMotte is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeMotte
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,172 people
- DeMotte has also been known as:
- De Motte
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for DeMotte <1>
- Virgie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Virgie is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virgie
- Forest City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Forest City is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
- Fair Oaks
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rensselaer
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Collegeville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Collegeville is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collegeville
- Egypt
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Egypt is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tefft, with the one closest to Tefft listed first.
- Lake Bruce
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Lake Bruce is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Bruce
- Delong
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Delong is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delong
- Lake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tefft, with the one closest to Tefft listed first.
- Dinwiddie
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Dinwiddie is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dinwiddie
- Lakes of the Four Seasons
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Leroy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Leroy is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leroy
- Shelby
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Shelby is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
- Winfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Winfield is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,265 people
- Deep River
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Deep River is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep River
- Lake Dalecarlia
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Lake Dalecarlia is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Dalecarlia
- Lowell
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Crown Point
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Schneider
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Schneider is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schneider
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Green Acres
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Green Acres is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Cedar Lake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- LaPorte County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tefft, with the one closest to Tefft listed first.
- La Crosse
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wanatah
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Hanna
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Haskell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Haskell is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haskell
- Alida
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Alida is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alida
- Union Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Westville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Kingsford Heights
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Kingsford Heights is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsford Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,379 people
- Otis
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Otis is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otis
- Kingsbury
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Kingsbury is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 239 people
- Door Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Door Village is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Door Village
- Holmesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Holmesville is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmesville
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tefft, with the one closest to Tefft listed first.
- Culver
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Culver is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,484 people
- Burr Oak
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Burr Oak is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr Oak
- Donaldson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Donaldson is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
- Newton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tefft, with the one closest to Tefft listed first.
- Roselawn
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Roselawn is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roselawn
- Thayer
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Thayer is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thayer
- Mount Ayr
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Ayr is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Ayr
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Sumava Resorts
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Lake Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Lake Village is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Village
- Foresman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Foresman is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foresman
- Beaver City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Beaver City is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver City
- Brook
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Morocco
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Porter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tefft, with the one closest to Tefft listed first.
- Kouts
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Aylesworth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Aylesworth is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aylesworth
- Boone Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Boone Grove is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boone Grove
- Hebron
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Porter Crossroads
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Porter Crossroads is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter Crossroads
- Valparaiso
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Suman
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Suman is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suman
- Wheeler
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Wheeler is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
- South Haven
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- South Haven is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Haven
- Tratebas Mill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Tratebas Mill is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tratebas Mill
- Babcock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Babcock is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babcock
- Chesterton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tefft, with the one closest to Tefft listed first.
- Medaryville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Denham
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Denham is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denham
- Francesville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Beardstown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Beardstown is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beardstown
- Winamac
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lawton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Lawton is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
- Monterey
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Monterey is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
- Star City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Thornhope
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Thornhope is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornhope
- Former names for Thornhope:
- Parisville
- Rosedale
- Thornhope has also been known as:
- Oak
- Starke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tefft, with the one closest to Tefft listed first.
- San Pierre
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- North Judson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Toto
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Toto is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toto
- Aldine
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Aldine is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldine
- Bass Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Bass Lake is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bass Lake
- Knox
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Ora
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Ora is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
- Ober
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Ober is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ober
- Hamlet
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Grovertown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Grovertown is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grovertown
- Koontz Lake
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Koontz Lake is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koontz Lake
- White County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tefft, with the one closest to Tefft listed first.
- Lee
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Lee is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
- Monon
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Buffalo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Buffalo is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
- Headlee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Headlee is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headlee
- Sitka
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sitka is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
- Indiana Beach
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Indiana Beach is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indiana Beach
- Wolcott
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Kankakee County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Tefft, with the one closest to Tefft listed first.
- Illinoi
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Illinoi is located in Kankakee County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illinoi
- Illiana Heights
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Illiana Heights is located in Kankakee County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illiana Heights
- Sherburnville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Sherburnville is located in Kankakee County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherburnville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Tefft, see our County-by-County Page for Tefft.
Cemeteries Near Tefft ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Tefft.
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 Tefft - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Tefft covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Tefft, with the one closest to Tefft listed first.
- Kankakee Twp. Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- All Saints Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hershman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Kniman Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- St. Henrys Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- St. Marks Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Lutheran Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Independence Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Graceland Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hopewell Mennonite Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- St. Thomas Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Continue List (169 more) ...
- Sutton Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- DeMotte Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Robinson Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Tefft had a population of 65 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Tefft, with the one closest to Tefft listed first.
- San Pierre
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Wheatfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Wilders
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wilders is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilders
- Clanricarde
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Clanricarde is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clanricarde
- Stoutsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Stoutsburg is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoutsburg
- Kouts
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Kniman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Kniman is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kniman
- Medaryville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- English Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- English Lake is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Lake
- La Crosse
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- North Judson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Aylesworth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Aylesworth is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aylesworth
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- DeMotte
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- DeMotte is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeMotte
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,172 people
- DeMotte has also been known as:
- De Motte
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for DeMotte <1>
- Virgie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Virgie is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virgie
- Denham
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Denham is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denham
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Tefft. See our List of 1890's Communities around Tefft.
Newspapers Published in Tefft ...
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 79 newspapers that have been published in the area around Tefft.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Tefft, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Tefft.
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 Tefft:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Jasper County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Fulton County
- Lake County
- LaPorte County
- Marshall County
- Newton County
- Porter County
- Pulaski County
- Starke County
- White County
- Kankakee 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 Tefft, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Tefft) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |