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 Thornton (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 Thornton. 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 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.
Thornton is located in Lawrence 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 Lawrence County: Greene, Jackson, Martin, Monroe, Orange & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near Thornton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Thornton:
- Lawrence County (The home county of Thornton)
- The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- Oolitic
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Avoca
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Avoca is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Judah
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Judah is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judah
- Bedford
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Guthrie
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Guthrie is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guthrie
- Erie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Erie is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
- Heltonville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Coxton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coxton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coxton
- Fayetteville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fayetteville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
- Springville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Springville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Crawford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Crawford is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Hartleyville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Hartleyville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartleyville
- Popcorn
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Popcorn is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popcorn
- Bartholomew County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- North Ogilville
(30 miles [48.3 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 northeast)
- Stony Lonesome is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Lonesome
- Brown County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- Story
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Story is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Story
- Becks Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Becks Grove is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Becks Grove
- Nashville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Pikes Peak
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Pikes Peak is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikes Peak
- Gnaw Bone
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Helmsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Helmsburg is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helmsburg
- Beanblossom
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Beanblossom is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beanblossom
- Beanblossom has also been known as:
- Bean Blossom
- Mount Liberty
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Liberty is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Liberty
- Davies's County
- Odon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Dubois County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- Hillham
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Hillham is located in Dubois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillham
- Norton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Norton is located in Dubois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- Owensburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Owensburg is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owensburg
- Solsberry
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Koleen
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Koleen is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koleen
- Hendricksville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Hendricksville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendricksville
- Mineral City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Mineral City is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral City
- Scotland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Scotland is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
- Newark
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Newark is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
- Tulip
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Tulip is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulip
- Bloomfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Calvertville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Calvertville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvertville
- Plummer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Plummer is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plummer
- Elliston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Elliston is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliston
- Newberry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Newberry is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newberry
- Population from the 2020 Census: 186 people
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- Norman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Kurtz
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Kurtz is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kurtz
- Medora
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Medora is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medora
- Population from the 2020 Census: 693 people
- Houston
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Houston is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
- Freetown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Vallonia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Spraytown
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Spraytown is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spraytown
- Brownstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- New Elizabethtown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- New Elizabethtown is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Elizabethtown
- Cortland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Cortland is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cortland
- Martin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- Mount Olive
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Olive is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Burns City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Burns City is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns City
- Crane
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Shoals
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Lacy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lacy is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacy
- Loogootee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Windom
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Windom is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- Harrodsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Harrodsburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrodsburg
- Smithville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Kirksville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Kirksville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirksville
- Clear Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Clear Creek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Creek
- Stanford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Stanford is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanford
- Bloomington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Highland Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Highland Village is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Village
- Dolan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Dolan is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolan
- Ellettsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Unionville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Stinesville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Stinesville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Orange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- Orleans
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Leipsic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Leipsic is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leipsic
- Abydel
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Abydel is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abydel
- Bromer
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Bromer is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromer
- Paoli
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Prospect
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Prospect is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect
- West Baden Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- West Baden Springs is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Baden Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 557 people
- Mahan Crossing
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Mahan Crossing is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahan Crossing
- French Lick
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Chambersburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Chambersburg is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambersburg
- Trotter Crossing
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Trotter Crossing is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trotter Crossing
- Youngs Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Youngs Creek is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngs Creek
- Owen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- Freedom
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Freedom is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom
- Spencer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- Saltillo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Saltillo is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saltillo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Campbellsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Claysville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Claysville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claysville
- Smedley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Smedley is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smedley
- Kossuth
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kossuth is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kossuth
- Plattsburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Plattsburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattsburg
- Livonia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Livonia is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
- Salem
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Thornton, see our County-by-County Page for Thornton.
Cemeteries Near Thornton ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thornton.
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 Thornton - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Thornton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- Hopkins Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Hayes Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Breckinridge Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Bailey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Perkins Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Beech Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Green Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Ikerd Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ikerd Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Ikerd Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the east of Bedford.
- Anderson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Brinegar Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hanson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (346 more) ...
- Tanksley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Hawkins Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Covey Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
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 Thornton in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Thornton.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
- Logan
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Logan is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan
- Dark Hollow
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Dark Hollow is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dark Hollow
- Bedford
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Shawswick
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Shawswick is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawswick
- Bartlettsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bartlettsville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlettsville
- Guthrie
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Guthrie is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guthrie
- Fayetteville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fayetteville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
- Coxton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coxton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coxton
- Erie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Erie is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
- Heltonville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Fairfax
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Fairfax is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax
- Springville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Springville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Harrodsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Harrodsburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrodsburg
- Yockey
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Yockey is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yockey
- Silverville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Silverville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Thornton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Thornton.
Newspapers Published in Thornton ...
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 102 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thornton.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Thornton, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Thornton.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Thornton:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Lawrence County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bartholomew County
- Brown County
- Davies's County
- Dubois County
- Greene County
- Jackson County
- Martin County
- Monroe County
- Orange County
- Owen County
- Washington 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Thornton) 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 Thornton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |