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 West Dana (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 West Dana. 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 West Dana ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for West Dana: W. Dana
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.
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 hospitals and 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.
West Dana is located in Vermillion 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 Vermillion County: Edgar (IL), Vermilion (IL), Fountain, Parke, Vigo & Warren.
Below are the counties that are near West Dana. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Dana:
- Vermillion County (The home county of West Dana)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Dana, with the one closest to West Dana listed first.
- Dana
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Dana is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 564 people
- Saint Bernice
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Saint Bernice is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Bernice
- Alta
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Alta is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta
- Hillsdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Hillsdale is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Newport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Summit Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Summit Grove is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Grove
- Blanford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Blanford is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanford
- Sandytown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sandytown is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandytown
- Cayuga
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Fairview Park
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fairview Park is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,298 people
- Eugene
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Eugene is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eugene
- Clinton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Dana, with the one closest to West Dana listed first.
- Perth
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Perth is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perth
- Bee Ridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bee Ridge is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee Ridge
- Carbon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Carbon is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 379 people
- Cloverland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cloverland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverland
- Lena
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lena is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lena
- Benwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Benwood is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benwood
- Billtown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Billtown is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billtown
- Brazil
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Staunton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Staunton is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staunton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 502 people
- Turner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Turner is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner
- Billville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Billville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billville
- Harmony
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Harmony is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 639 people
- Fountain County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Dana, with the one closest to West Dana listed first.
- Harveysburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Harveysburg is located in Fountain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveysburg
- Kingman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wallace
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Wallace is located in Fountain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace
- Population from the 2020 Census: 83 people
- Covington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Layton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Layton is located in Fountain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Layton
- Veedersburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hillsboro
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Stone Bluff
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Stone Bluff is located in Fountain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Bluff
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Dana, with the one closest to West Dana listed first.
- Waveland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Alamo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Alamo is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
- Parke County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Dana, with the one closest to West Dana listed first.
- Montezuma
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Armiesburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Armiesburg is located in Parke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armiesburg
- West Union
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- West Union is located in Parke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
- Mecca
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mecca is located in Parke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mecca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 325 people
- Annapolis
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Annapolis is located in Parke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annapolis
- Bloomingdale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Numa
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Numa is located in Parke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Numa
- Rockville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- West Atherton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- West Atherton is located in Parke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Atherton
- Billie Creek Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Rosedale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rosedale is located in Parke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 704 people
- Rosedale has also been known as:
- Roseville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rosedale <1>
- Marshall
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Marshall is located in Parke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Dana, with the one closest to West Dana listed first.
- Portland Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Portland Mills is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland Mills
- Russellville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Russellville is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
- Vigo County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Dana, with the one closest to West Dana listed first.
- Libertyville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Libertyville is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- New Goshen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Pine Ridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Pine Ridge is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
- Shepardsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Shepardsville is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shepardsville
- Harrison
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Harrison is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Sandcut
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Sandcut is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandcut
- Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Spelterville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Spelterville is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spelterville
- North Terre Haute
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- North Terre Haute is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Terre Haute
- Barnhart Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Barnhart Town is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnhart Town
- Burnett
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Burnett is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnett
- Fontanet
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fontanet is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontanet
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Dana, with the one closest to West Dana listed first.
- Foster
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Foster is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster
- Baltimore ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Baltimore is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
- State Line City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- State Line City is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- State Line
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- State Line is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
- Champaign County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Dana, with the one closest to West Dana listed first.
- Broadlands
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Homer
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Homer is located in Champaign County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,143 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Homer <1>
- Longview
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Clark County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Dana, with the one closest to West Dana listed first.
- Dennison
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Dennison is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennison
- Farrington
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Farrington is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrington
- Weaver
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Weaver is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
- Livingston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Livingston is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
- Clarksville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Clarksville is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
- Marshall
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Coles County (IL)
- Oakland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Douglas County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Dana, with the one closest to West Dana listed first.
- Newman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Murdock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Edgar County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Dana, with the one closest to West Dana listed first.
- Raven
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Raven is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven
- Kidley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Kidley is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kidley
- Scottland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Scottland is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottland
- Logan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Chrisman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Clays Prairie
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Clays Prairie is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clays Prairie
- Bloomfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Bloomfield is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
- Huffmanville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Huffmanville is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffmanville
- Kentucky
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Kentucky is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentucky
- Vermilion
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Metcalf
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Paris
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Vermilion County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Dana, with the one closest to West Dana listed first.
- Ridge Farm
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Vermilion Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Vermilion Grove is located in Vermilion County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermilion Grove
- Olivet
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Olivet is located in Vermilion County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Meeks
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Meeks is located in Vermilion County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meeks
- Georgetown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Indianola
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Busenville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Busenville is located in Vermilion County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busenville
- Westville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Sidell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Archie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Archie is located in Vermilion County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archie
- Belgium
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Belgium is located in Vermilion County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgium
- Population from the 2020 Census: 362 people
- Catlin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Catlin is located in Vermilion County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catlin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,899 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Catlin <1>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Dana, see our County-by-County Page for West Dana.
Cemeteries Near West Dana ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Dana.
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 West Dana - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Dana covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Dana, with the one closest to West Dana listed first.
- McCauley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Bales Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Newton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bono Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lebanon Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Friends Chapel Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friends Chapel Church Cemetery
- The Friends Chapel Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Friends Chapel Cemetery
- Ingram Cemetery
- Prairie Twp. Chapel Cemetery
- Wesley Chapel Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #244596 <2>
- Cameron Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Adams Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bogart Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hollingsworth Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Walnut Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Old Hopewell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Continue List (412 more) ...
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Igo Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Allen Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
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 West Dana in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Dana.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Dana, with the one closest to West Dana listed first.
- Illiana ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Illiana is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illiana
- Dana
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Dana is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 564 people
- Raven
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Raven is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven
- Toronto
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Toronto is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toronto
- Kidley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Kidley is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kidley
- Scottland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Scottland is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottland
- Logan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Bernice
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Saint Bernice is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Bernice
- Highland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Chrisman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Humrick
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Humrick is located in Vermilion County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humrick
- Clays Prairie
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Clays Prairie is located in Edgar County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clays Prairie
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Summit Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Summit Grove is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Grove
- Montezuma
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Newport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Dana. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Dana.
Newspapers Published in West Dana ...
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 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Dana.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Dana, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Dana.
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 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 West Dana:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Vermillion County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clay County
- Fountain County
- Montgomery County
- Parke County
- Putnam County
- Vigo County
- Warren County
- Champaign County
- Clark County
- Coles County
- Douglas County
- Edgar County
- Vermilion 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 West Dana, 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- West Dana) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |