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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 Wawasee (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 Wawasee. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Wawasee is located in Kosciusko 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 Kosciusko County: Elkhart, Fulton, Marshall, Noble, Wabash & Whitley.

Below are the counties that are near Wawasee. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wawasee:

  • Kosciusko County     (The home county of Wawasee)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wawasee, with the one closest to Wawasee listed first.
    • Syracuse
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Wawasee Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Wawasee Village is located in Kosciusko County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wawasee Village
    • North Webster
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Milford Junction
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Milford Junction is located in Kosciusko County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford Junction
    • Milford
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Milford is located in Kosciusko County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,551 people
    • Leesburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Arrowhead Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Arrowhead Park is located in Kosciusko County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowhead Park
    • Clunette
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Clunette is located in Kosciusko County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clunette
    • Pierceton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Winona Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Atwood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Atwood is located in Kosciusko County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwood
    • Etna Green
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Claypool
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Allen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wawasee, with the one closest to Wawasee listed first.
    • Ari
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Ari is located in Allen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ari
    • Dunn Mill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Dunn Mill is located in Allen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn Mill
    • Arcola
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Huntertown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • DeKalb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wawasee, with the one closest to Wawasee listed first.
    • Altona
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Altona is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altona
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
    • Corunna
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Corunna is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
    • Fairfield Center
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Fairfield Center is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Center
    • Garrett
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Elkhart County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wawasee, with the one closest to Wawasee listed first.
    • Benton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Benton is located in Elkhart County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
    • Millersburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Bainter Town
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Bainter Town is located in Elkhart County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainter Town
    • New Paris
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Gravelton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Gravelton is located in Elkhart County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravelton
    • Goshen
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Foraker
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Foraker is located in Elkhart County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foraker
    • Southwest
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Southwest is located in Elkhart County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwest
    • Nappanee
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Middlebury
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Dunlap
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Dunlap is located in Elkhart County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap
    • Wakarusa
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Bristol
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • LaGrange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wawasee, with the one closest to Wawasee listed first.
    • Topeka
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Shipshewana
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Wolcottville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Valentine
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Valentine is located in LaGrange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
    • LaGrange
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Seyberts
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Seyberts is located in LaGrange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyberts
    • South Milford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • South Milford is located in LaGrange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Milford
    • Scott
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Scott is located in LaGrange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott
    • Howe
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Plato
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Plato is located in LaGrange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato
    • Gravel Beach
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Gravel Beach is located in LaGrange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Beach
    • Brushy Prairie
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Brushy Prairie is located in LaGrange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Prairie
    • Stroh
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Stroh is located in LaGrange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroh
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wawasee, with the one closest to Wawasee listed first.
    • Bourbon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Bremen
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Old Tip Town
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Old Tip Town is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Tip Town
    • Tippecanoe
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Linkville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Linkville is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linkville
  • Noble County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wawasee, with the one closest to Wawasee listed first.
    • Cromwell
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Indian Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Indian Village is located in Noble County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
    • Ligonier
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Kimmell
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Wilmot
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Wilmot is located in Noble County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
    • Wawaka
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Cosperville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Cosperville is located in Noble County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosperville
    • Wolf Lake
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Wolf Lake is located in Noble County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
    • Port Mitchell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Port Mitchell is located in Noble County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Mitchell
    • Albion
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Brimfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Brimfield is located in Noble County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
    • Merriam
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Merriam is located in Noble County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merriam
    • Rome City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Saint Joseph County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wawasee, with the one closest to Wawasee listed first.
    • Osceola
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Osceola is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,486 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osceola <1>
    • Wyatt
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Mishawaka
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lakeville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Wabash County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wawasee, with the one closest to Wawasee listed first.
    • Liberty Mills
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Liberty Mills is located in Wabash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Mills
    • North Manchester
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Whitley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wawasee, with the one closest to Wawasee listed first.
    • Ormas
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Ormas is located in Whitley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ormas
    • Etna
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Etna is located in Whitley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
    • Cresco
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Cresco is located in Whitley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cresco
    • Lorane
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Lorane is located in Whitley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorane
    • Larwill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Larwill is located in Whitley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larwill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
    • Tri-Lakes
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Tri-Lakes is located in Whitley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tri-Lakes
    • Columbia City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Collins
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Collins is located in Whitley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
    • South Whitley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Churubusco
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Collamer
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Collamer is located in Whitley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collamer
    • Luther
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Luther is located in Whitley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther
    • Dunfee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Dunfee is located in Whitley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunfee
  • Cass County (MI)
  • Saint Joseph County (MI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wawasee, with the one closest to Wawasee listed first.
    • Klingers
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Klingers is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klingers
    • Mottville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Mottville is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mottville
    • Oakwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Oakwood is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
    • White Pigeon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Bluff Beach
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Bluff Beach is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Beach
    • Constantine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Sturgis
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Sturgis is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,803 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sturgis <1>
    • Fawn River
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Fawn River is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn River

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wawasee, see our County-by-County Page for Wawasee.

Cemeteries Near Wawasee ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wawasee.

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 Wawasee - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wawasee covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wawasee, with the one closest to Wawasee listed first.

  • Byers Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Weybright Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Lake Bethel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Tamarack Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Union Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • McClintic Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Shobe Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Hire Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Syracuse Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Pleasant View Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Cable Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (246 more) ...
    • Valley Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Oak Grove Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Brown Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)

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>

While we didn't find Wawasee in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wawasee.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Wawasee, with the one closest to Wawasee listed first.

  • Vawter Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Vawter Park is located in Kosciusko County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vawter Park
  • Syracuse
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Cromwell
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Ligonier
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Grismore
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Grismore is located in Noble County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grismore
  • North Webster
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Benton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Benton is located in Elkhart County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
  • Kimmell
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Milford Junction
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Milford Junction is located in Kosciusko County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford Junction
  • Milford
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Milford is located in Kosciusko County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,551 people
  • Oswego
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Oswego is located in Kosciusko County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswego
  • Wilmot
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Wilmot is located in Noble County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • New Paris
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Leesburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Waterford Mills
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Waterford Mills is located in Elkhart County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford Mills

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wawasee. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wawasee.

Newspapers Published in Wawasee ...

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 83 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wawasee.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wawasee, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wawasee.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Wawasee:

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 Wawasee, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Wawasee) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.