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 Union Center (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 Union Center. 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 Union Center ...
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 Union Center: Union Ctr. (or less commonly used: Union Cen., Union Cent. or Union Cntr.)
You might see Union Centre instead of Union Center.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Union Center. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Union Center.
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.
For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.
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 and hospitals 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.
Union Center is located in LaPorte 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 LaPorte County: Jasper, Porter, Saint Joseph, Starke & Berrien (MI).
Below are the counties that are near Union Center. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Union Center:
- LaPorte County (The home county of Union Center)
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Center, with the one closest to Union Center listed first.
- Kingsford Heights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Kingsford Heights is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsford Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,379 people
- Kingsbury
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Kingsbury is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 239 people
- Kankakee
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Kankakee is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kankakee
- Stillwell
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Stillwell is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stillwell
- Union Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hanna
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Door Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Door Village is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Door Village
- La Porte
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rolling Prairie
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Alida
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Alida is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alida
- Haskell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Haskell is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haskell
- Wanatah
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Center, with the one closest to Union Center listed first.
- Delong
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Delong is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delong
- Leiters Ford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Leiters Ford is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leiters Ford
- Lake Bruce
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lake Bruce is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Bruce
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Center, with the one closest to Union Center listed first.
- Tefft
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Tefft is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tefft
- Wheatfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Center, with the one closest to Union Center listed first.
- Deep River
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Deep River is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep River
- Lakes of the Four Seasons
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Center, with the one closest to Union Center listed first.
- Tyner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Tyner is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyner
- Donaldson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Donaldson is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
- La Paz
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- La Paz is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Paz
- Population from the 2020 Census: 549 people
- Harris
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Harris is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
- Linkville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Linkville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linkville
- Burr Oak
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Burr Oak is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr Oak
- Plymouth
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Culver
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Culver is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,484 people
- Bremen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Argos
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bourbon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Porter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Center, with the one closest to Union Center listed first.
- Suman
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Suman is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suman
- Tratebas Mill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Tratebas Mill is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tratebas Mill
- Town-of-Pines
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Town-of-Pines is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town-of-Pines
- Population from the 2020 Census: 688 people
- Valparaiso
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Beverly Shores
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Kouts
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Chesterton
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Babcock
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Babcock is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babcock
- Porter
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Dune Acres
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dune Acres is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dune Acres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
- Burns Harbor
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- South Haven
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- South Haven is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Haven
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Center, with the one closest to Union Center listed first.
- Denham
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Denham is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denham
- Beardstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Beardstown is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beardstown
- Monterey
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Monterey is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
- Lawton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Lawton is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
- Winamac
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Medaryville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Joseph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Center, with the one closest to Union Center listed first.
- Walkerton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- North Liberty
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Crumstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Crumstown is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crumstown
- New Carlisle
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Zeigler
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Zeigler is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zeigler
- Lakeville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Nutwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Nutwood is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutwood
- Gulivoire Park
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gulivoire Park is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulivoire Park
- Wyatt
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- South Bend
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Roseland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Roseland is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 635 people
- Indian Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Indian Village is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- Starke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Center, with the one closest to Union Center listed first.
- Hamlet
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Koontz Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Koontz Lake is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koontz Lake
- Grovertown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Grovertown is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grovertown
- Knox
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Toto
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Toto is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toto
- Ober
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ober is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ober
- Aldine
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Aldine is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldine
- Bass Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Bass Lake is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bass Lake
- North Judson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Ora
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Ora is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
- San Pierre
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Berrien County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Center, with the one closest to Union Center listed first.
- Avery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Avery is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
- Grand Beach
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Grand Beach is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Beach
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Three Oaks
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Michiana
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- New Buffalo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Galien
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Galien is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galien
- Population from the 2020 Census: 527 people
- Union Pier
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Dayton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Dayton is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
- Lakeside
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Lakeside is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
- Bakertown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bakertown is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakertown
- Harbert
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Buchanan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Union Center, see our County-by-County Page for Union Center.
Cemeteries Near Union Center ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Union Center.
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 Union Center - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Union Center covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Union Center, with the one closest to Union Center listed first.
- Tracy Lutheran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Kingsbury Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Fletcher Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Patton Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Quaker Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Westlawn Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Griffin Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Morgan Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (166 more) ...
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Barber Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Pine Lake Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
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 Union Center had a population of 12 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Union Center, with the one closest to Union Center listed first.
- Tracy
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Tracy is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tracy
- Kingsbury
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Kingsbury is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 239 people
- Kankakee
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Kankakee is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kankakee
- Stillwell
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Stillwell is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stillwell
- Wellsboro
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Wellsboro is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellsboro
- Hamlet
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Fish Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Fish Lake is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Lake
- Union Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hanna
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Walkerton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- La Porte
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Door Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Door Village is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Door Village
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Grovertown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Grovertown is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grovertown
- Thomaston
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Thomaston is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomaston
- North Liberty
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Union Center. See our List of 1890's Communities around Union Center.
Newspapers Published in Union Center ...
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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Union Center.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Union Center, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Union Center.
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 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 Union Center:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to LaPorte County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Fulton County
- Jasper County
- Lake County
- Marshall County
- Porter County
- Pulaski County
- Saint Joseph County
- Starke County
- Berrien 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 Union Center, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Union Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |