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 Waterloo (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 Waterloo. 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 Waterloo ...
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.
In past government published Postal Guides, Waterloo was referred to as Waterloo Courthouse.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Waterloo. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Waterloo.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.
Waterloo is located in DeKalb 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 DeKalb County: Allen, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Defiance (OH) & Williams (OH).
Below are the counties that are near Waterloo. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Waterloo:
- DeKalb County (The home county of Waterloo)
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Auburn
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Moore
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Moore is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore
- Ashley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Fairfield Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fairfield Center is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Center
- Corunna
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Corunna is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Butler
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Concord
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Concord is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Altona
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Altona is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altona
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Garrett
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Joe
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- New Era
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- New Era is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Era
- Spencerville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Allen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Leo-Cedarville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Leo-Cedarville is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leo-Cedarville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,882 people
- Leo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Grabill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Huntertown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ari
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ari is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ari
- Harlan
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Wallen
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Wallen is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallen
- Hacienda Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Hacienda Village is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hacienda Village
- Dunn Mill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dunn Mill is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn Mill
- Woodburn
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- New Haven
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Fort Wayne
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- LaGrange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Gravel Beach
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Gravel Beach is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Beach
- Stroh
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Stroh is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroh
- South Milford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- South Milford is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Milford
- Brushy Prairie
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Brushy Prairie is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Prairie
- Wolcottville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Mongo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Plato
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Plato is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato
- Valentine
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- Brighton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Brighton is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Greenfield Mills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- LaGrange
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Topeka
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Noble County
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Avilla
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Kendallville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Wakeville Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Wakeville Village is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakeville Village
- Laotto
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Ege
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ege is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ege
- Rome City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Green Center
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Green Center is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Center
- Brimfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Brimfield is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
- Albion
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Port Mitchell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Port Mitchell is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Mitchell
- Merriam
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Merriam is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merriam
- Cosperville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Cosperville is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosperville
- Steuben County
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Hudson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Hamilton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hamilton is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,595 people
- Russels Point
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Russels Point is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russels Point
- Alvarado
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Alvarado is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- Angola
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- York
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- York is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Fremont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Jamestown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Jamestown is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Orland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Ray
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Ray is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Clear Lake
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Clear Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Whitley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Churubusco
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Collins
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Collins is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Tri-Lakes
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Tri-Lakes is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tri-Lakes
- Cresco
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cresco is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cresco
- Dunfee
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dunfee is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunfee
- Ormas
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Ormas is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ormas
- Columbia City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Etna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Etna is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Branch County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Ray
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Canada Shores
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Canada Shores is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Shores
- Gilead
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Gilead is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Hatmaker
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Hatmaker is located in Branch County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- Hillsdale County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Camden
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Montgomery
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Montgomery is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
- Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Fawn River
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fawn River is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn River
- Defiance County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Hicksville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ney
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Ney is located in Defiance County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ney
- Population from the 2020 Census: 337 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ney <1>
- Sherwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Paulding County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Link ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Link is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Link
- Antwerp
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Knoxdale ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Knoxdale is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knoxdale
- Cecil
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cecil is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- New Rochester ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- New Rochester is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Rochester
- Emmett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Emmett is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmett
- Emmett has also been known as:
- Emerald Station
- Emerald
- Payne
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Payne is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Payne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,132 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Payne <1>
- Paulding
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Renollet ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Renollet is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renollet
- Worstville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Worstville is located in Paulding County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worstville
- Williams County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Edgerton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Denmark ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Denmark is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Edon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Edon is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 807 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edon <1>
- Blakeslee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Columbia
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Columbia is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia
- Melbern
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Melbern is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbern
- Cooney
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cooney is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooney
- Ainger
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ainger is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ainger
- Northwest
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Northwest is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwest
- Bryan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Bryan is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,212 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bryan <1>
- Montpelier
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Jim Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jim Town is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jim Town
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Waterloo, see our County-by-County Page for Waterloo.
Cemeteries Near Waterloo ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Waterloo.
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 Waterloo - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Waterloo covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Waterloo Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Lutz Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Tamarack Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ridge Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Cedar Lake Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mott Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Sedan Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Hessen Cassel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hessen Cassel Cemetery
- The Hessen Cassel Cemetery has also been known as:
- Rice Cemetery
- Evergreen Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Evergreen Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Auburn.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #84950 <2>
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Roselawn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Cosper Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (288 more) ...
- Barkers Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Fairfield Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Corunna Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
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 Waterloo had a population of 1,473 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Waterloo had a population of 2,266 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
- Sedan
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Sedan is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedan
- Auburn
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Moore
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Moore is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore
- Summit
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Summit is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Auburn Junction
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Auburn Junction is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn Junction
- Fairfield Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fairfield Center is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Center
- Corunna
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Corunna is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Hudson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Altona
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Altona is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altona
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Garrett
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Concord
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Concord is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Butler
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Saint Johns
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Johns is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
- Hamilton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hamilton is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,595 people
- Pleasant Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Waterloo. See our List of 1890's Communities around Waterloo.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Waterloo ...
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 Waterloo.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Waterloo. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Waterloo and those printed in the larger area surrounding Waterloo.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4> of Waterloo.
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 websites either 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 Waterloo:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to DeKalb County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allen County
- LaGrange County
- Noble County
- Steuben County
- Whitley County
- Branch County
- Hillsdale County
- Saint Joseph County
- Defiance County
- Paulding County
- Williams 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 Waterloo, 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 from Point A (ie- Waterloo) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |