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 Lafayette (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 Lafayette. 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 Lafayette ...
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 West Lafayette: W. Lafayette
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Lafayette. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Lafayette.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.
West Lafayette is located in Tippecanoe 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 Tippecanoe County: Benton, Carroll, Clinton, Fountain, Montgomery, Warren & White.
Below are the counties that are near West Lafayette. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Lafayette:
- Tippecanoe County (The home county of West Lafayette)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Lafayette, with the one closest to West Lafayette listed first.
- Indian Village
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Indian Village is located in Tippecanoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Elston
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Elston is located in Tippecanoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elston
- Lafayette
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Battle Ground
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Delp
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Delp is located in Tippecanoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delp
- Montmorenci
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Montmorenci is located in Tippecanoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montmorenci
- Shadeland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Shadeland is located in Tippecanoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadeland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,922 people
- Buck Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Americus
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Americus is located in Tippecanoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Americus
- Dayton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Glenhall
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Glenhall is located in Tippecanoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenhall
- Westpoint
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Benton County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Lafayette, with the one closest to West Lafayette listed first.
- Otterbein
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Templeton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Templeton is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Templeton
- Atkinson
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Atkinson is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson
- Oxford
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Fowler
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Wadena
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wadena is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadena
- Boswell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Gravel Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Gravel Hill is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Hill
- Talbot
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Dunn ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Dunn is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn
- Earl Park
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Earl Park is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earl Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 342 people
- Boone County
- Thorntown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Lafayette, with the one closest to West Lafayette listed first.
- Pyrmont
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Pyrmont is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pyrmont
- Ockley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Ockley is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ockley
- Pittsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pittsburg is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
- Owasco
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Owasco is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owasco
- Radnor
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Radnor is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radnor
- Delphi
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Prince William
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Prince William is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prince William
- Yeoman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Yeoman is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yeoman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Bringhurst
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Bringhurst is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bringhurst
- Cutler
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Cutler is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutler
- Flora
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Rockfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rockfield is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockfield
- Cass County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Lafayette, with the one closest to West Lafayette listed first.
- Clymers
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Clymers is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clymers
- Lake Cicott
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Cicott is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Cicott
- Young America
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Young America is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Young America
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Lafayette, with the one closest to West Lafayette listed first.
- Edna Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Edna Mills is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna Mills
- Mulberry
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rossville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Fickle
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Fickle is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fickle
- Cambria
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Cambria is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambria
- Sedalia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Sedalia is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
- Colfax
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Manson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Manson is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manson
- Geetingsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Geetingsville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geetingsville
- Frankfort
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Beard
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Beard is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beard
- Middlefork
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Middlefork is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlefork
- Fountain County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Lafayette, with the one closest to West Lafayette listed first.
- Roberts
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Roberts is located in Fountain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberts
- Attica
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Newtown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Newtown is located in Fountain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
- Mellott
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Mellott is located in Fountain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellott
- Population from the 2020 Census: 194 people
- Stone Bluff
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Stone Bluff is located in Fountain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Bluff
- Hillsboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Veedersburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Howard County
- Shanghai
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Shanghai is located in Howard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanghai
- Jasper County
- Remington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Lafayette, with the one closest to West Lafayette listed first.
- Linden
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- New Richmond
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Cherry Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Cherry Grove is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Grove
- Wingate
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bowers
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bowers is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowers
- Darlington
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Darlington is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 860 people
- Garfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Garfield is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
- Waynetown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Wesley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Wesley is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley
- Crawfordsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Smartsburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Smartsburg is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smartsburg
- Shannondale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Shannondale is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannondale
- Newton County
- Goodland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Lafayette, with the one closest to West Lafayette listed first.
- Green Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Green Hill is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Independence
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Independence is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
- Chatterton ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Chatterton is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatterton
- Pine Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Williamsport
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Brisco ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Brisco is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brisco
- West Lebanon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- West Lebanon is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lebanon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 686 people
- Old Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Old Town is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
- White County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Lafayette, with the one closest to West Lafayette listed first.
- Brookston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Springboro
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Springboro is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springboro
- Chalmers
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Chalmers is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalmers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 493 people
- Reynolds
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Monticello
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Wolcott
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Norway
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Norway is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norway
- Indiana Beach
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Indiana Beach is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indiana Beach
- Idaville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Idaville is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idaville
- Burnettsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Burnettsville is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnettsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 339 people
- Sitka
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Sitka is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
- Monon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Lafayette, see our County-by-County Page for West Lafayette.
Cemeteries Near West Lafayette ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Lafayette.
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 Lafayette - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Lafayette covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Lafayette, with the one closest to West Lafayette listed first.
- Grandview Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview Cemetery
- The Grandview Cemetery has also been known as:
- Grand View Cemetery
- McCormick Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Tippecanoe Memory Gardens
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- St. Boniface Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Spring Vale Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Pierce Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Resthaven Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Swisher - Hurtz Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hebron Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sand Ridge Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Marys Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Marys Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Lafayette.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #86726 <3>
- Fink Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (257 more) ...
- North Union Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Spencer Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Granville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
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>
While we didn't find West Lafayette in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Lafayette.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Lafayette, with the one closest to West Lafayette listed first.
- Summit
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Summit is located in Tippecanoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Elston
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Elston is located in Tippecanoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elston
- Lafayette
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Battle Ground
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Octagon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Octagon is located in Tippecanoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Octagon
- Montmorenci
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Montmorenci is located in Tippecanoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montmorenci
- Shadeland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Shadeland is located in Tippecanoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadeland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,922 people
- Ash Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ash Grove is located in Tippecanoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash Grove
- Taylor
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Taylor is located in Tippecanoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor
- Monitor
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Monitor is located in Tippecanoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
- Buck Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Glenhall
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Glenhall is located in Tippecanoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenhall
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Dayton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Heath
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Heath is located in Tippecanoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heath
- Americus
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Americus is located in Tippecanoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Americus
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Lafayette. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Lafayette.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of West Lafayette ...
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 133 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Lafayette.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of West Lafayette. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of West Lafayette and those printed in the larger area surrounding West Lafayette.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 23 miles [37 km]<2> of West Lafayette.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Lafayette:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Tippecanoe County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Benton County
- Boone County
- Carroll County
- Cass County
- Clinton County
- Fountain County
- Howard County
- Jasper County
- Montgomery County
- Newton County
- Warren County
- White 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 'straight-line' (or 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- West Lafayette) 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 West Lafayette, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |