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 Vilas (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 Vilas. 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 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.
Vilas is located in Owen 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 Owen County: Clay, Greene, Monroe, Morgan & Putnam.
Below are the counties that are near Vilas. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Vilas:
- Owen County (The home county of Vilas)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vilas, with the one closest to Vilas listed first.
- Freedom
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Freedom is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom
- Arney
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Arney is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arney
- Spencer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Patricksburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Patricksburg is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patricksburg
- Coal City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Coal City is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Denmark
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Denmark is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Atkinsonville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Atkinsonville is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinsonville
- Cuba
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Cuba is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Gosport
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Quincy
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Quincy is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
- Brown County
- Helmsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Helmsburg is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helmsburg
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vilas, with the one closest to Vilas listed first.
- Clay City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Howesville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Howesville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howesville
- Bowling Green
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bowling Green is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowling Green
- Eel River
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Eel River is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eel River
- Poland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Saline City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Saline City is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saline City
- Coalmont
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Coalmont is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalmont
- Center Point
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Art
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Art is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Art
- Prairie City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Prairie City is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie City
- Roadman Corner
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Roadman Corner is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roadman Corner
- Cory
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cory is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cory
- Davies's County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vilas, with the one closest to Vilas listed first.
- Odon
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Elnora
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Elnora is located in Davies's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elnora
- Population from the 2020 Census: 676 people
- Plainville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Plainville is located in Davies's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 500 people
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vilas, with the one closest to Vilas listed first.
- Newark
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Newark is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
- Calvertville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Calvertville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvertville
- Tulip
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Tulip is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulip
- Hendricksville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Hendricksville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendricksville
- Solsberry
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Worthington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bloomfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mineral City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Mineral City is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral City
- Elliston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Elliston is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliston
- Koleen
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Koleen is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koleen
- Plummer
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Plummer is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plummer
- Switz City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Knox County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vilas, with the one closest to Vilas listed first.
- Sandborn
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sandborn is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandborn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 403 people
- Westphalia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vilas, with the one closest to Vilas listed first.
- Popcorn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Popcorn is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popcorn
- Springville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Springville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Judah
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Judah is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judah
- Guthrie
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Guthrie is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guthrie
- Avoca
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Avoca is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Silverville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Silverville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverville
- Fayetteville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fayetteville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
- Oolitic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Coxton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Coxton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coxton
- Williams
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Williams is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams
- Bedford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Heltonville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Martin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vilas, with the one closest to Vilas listed first.
- Crane
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Burns City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Burns City is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns City
- Mount Olive
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Mount Olive is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vilas, with the one closest to Vilas listed first.
- Stanford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Stanford is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanford
- Ellettsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Highland Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Highland Village is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Village
- Stinesville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Stinesville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Kirksville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Kirksville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirksville
- Bloomington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Clear Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Clear Creek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Creek
- Dolan
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Dolan is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolan
- Smithville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Harrodsburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Harrodsburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrodsburg
- Unionville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vilas, with the one closest to Vilas listed first.
- Paragon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lewisville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Lewisville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
- Minetree ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 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
- Plano
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Plano is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
- Eminence
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Eminence is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eminence
- Taggart Crossing ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Taggart Crossing is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taggart Crossing
- Mahalasville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mahalasville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahalasville
- Martinsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hall
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hall is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hall
- Wilbur
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wilbur is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbur
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vilas, with the one closest to Vilas listed first.
- Cloverdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Putnamville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Putnamville is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnamville
- Reelsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Reelsville is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reelsville
- Belle Union
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Belle Union is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Union
- Limedale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Limedale is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limedale
- Sullivan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vilas, with the one closest to Vilas listed first.
- Dugger
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Gambill
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Gambill is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gambill
- Hymera
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Hymera is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hymera
- Population from the 2020 Census: 758 people
- Jericho
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Jericho is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
- Scotchtown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Scotchtown is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotchtown
- Farmersburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Shelburn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Sullivan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Vigo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vilas, with the one closest to Vilas listed first.
- Lewis
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Lewis is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis
- Riley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Riley is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Grange Corner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Grange Corner is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grange Corner
- Pimento
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Pimento is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pimento
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Vilas, see our County-by-County Page for Vilas.
Cemeteries Near Vilas ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vilas.
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 Vilas - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Vilas covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Vilas, with the one closest to Vilas listed first.
- Snyder Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Kelley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Camden Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Pryor Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Waker Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Burton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Neeley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- McIndoo Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Pryor Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Livingston Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Adel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adel Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Adel Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<2> to the east of Freedom.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #84144 <3>
- Oliphant Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (368 more) ...
- Light Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Leach Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Newark Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Vilas had a population of 25 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Vilas, with the one closest to Vilas listed first.
- Adel
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Adel is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adel
- Farmers
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Farmers is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmers
- Newark
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Newark is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
- Freedom
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Freedom is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom
- Calvertville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Calvertville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvertville
- McVille
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- McVille is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
- Freeman
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Freeman is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Arney
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Arney is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arney
- Tulip
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Tulip is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulip
- Solsberry
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hendricksville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Hendricksville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendricksville
- Worthington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Whitehall
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Whitehall is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehall
- Spencer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Rincon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rincon is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rincon
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Vilas. See our List of 1890's Communities around Vilas.
Newspapers Published in Vilas ...
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 107 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vilas.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Vilas, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Vilas.
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 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 Vilas:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Owen County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Brown County
- Clay County
- Davies's County
- Greene County
- Knox 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Vilas) 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 Vilas, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |