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 Westchester (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 Westchester. 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 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.
Westchester is located in Jay 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 Jay County: Adams, Blackford, Delaware, Randolph, Wells, Darke (OH) & Mercer (OH).
Below are the counties that are near Westchester. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Westchester:
- Jay County (The home county of Westchester)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westchester, with the one closest to Westchester listed first.
- Trinity
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Trinity is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity
- Bryant
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Antiville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Antiville is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antiville
- Bloomfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bloomfield is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
- Jay City
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Jay City is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jay City
- Portland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Salamonia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Salamonia is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salamonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
- Boundary City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Boundary City is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boundary City
- Blaine
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Blaine is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
- Collett
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Collett is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collett
- Bluff Point
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Bluff Point is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Point
- Pony
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Pony is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pony
- Greene
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Greene is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greene
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westchester, with the one closest to Westchester listed first.
- Geneva
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Berne
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Linn Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Linn Grove is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linn Grove
- Coppess Corner
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Coppess Corner is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppess Corner
- Monroe
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Honduras
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Honduras is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honduras
- Pleasant Mills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Decatur
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Preble
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Magley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Magley is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magley
- Blackford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westchester, with the one closest to Westchester listed first.
- Ridertown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Ridertown is located in Blackford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridertown
- Montpelier
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Millgrove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Millgrove is located in Blackford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millgrove
- Mollie ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Mollie is located in Blackford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mollie
- Hartford City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Renner ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Renner is located in Blackford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renner
- Shamrock Lakes
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Shamrock Lakes is located in Blackford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Delaware County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westchester, with the one closest to Westchester listed first.
- Albany
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Granville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Granville is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Former name for Granville:
- Weaton
- Eaton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Desoto
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Desoto is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Desoto
- Selma
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Grant County
- Farrville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Farrville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrville
- Huntington County
- Warren
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westchester, with the one closest to Westchester listed first.
- New Pittsburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- New Pittsburg is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Pittsburg
- Ridgeville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ridgeville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 734 people
- Saratoga
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Stone
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Stone is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone
- Union City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Haysville Corner
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Haysville Corner is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haysville Corner
- Winchester
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Farmland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Parker City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Rural
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Rural is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural
- Snow Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Snow Hill is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Spartanburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Spartanburg is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spartanburg
- Windsor
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Windsor is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
- Wells County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westchester, with the one closest to Westchester listed first.
- Phenix
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Phenix is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phenix
- Nottingham
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Nottingham is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nottingham
- Petroleum
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Petroleum is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petroleum
- Reiffsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Reiffsburg is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reiffsburg
- Vera Cruz
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Vera Cruz is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vera Cruz
- Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
- Greenville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Greenville is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Poneto
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Poneto is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poneto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
- Keystone
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Keystone is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone
- Craigville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Craigville is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigville
- Travisville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Travisville is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travisville
- Bluffton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty Center is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Center
- North Oaks
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- North Oaks is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Oaks
- Auglaize County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westchester, with the one closest to Westchester listed first.
- Saint Marys
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- New Bremen
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Minster
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- New Knoxville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- New Knoxville is located in Auglaize County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Knoxville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 862 people
- Darke County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westchester, with the one closest to Westchester listed first.
- Lightsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lightsville is located in Darke County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lightsville
- New Weston
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- North Star
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Rossburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Union City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Union City is located in Darke County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,585 people
- Ansonia
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Ansonia is located in Darke County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ansonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,120 people
- Brock
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Brock is located in Darke County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brock
- Osgood
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Yorkshire
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dawn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dawn is located in Darke County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawn
- Frenchtown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Frenchtown is located in Darke County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchtown
- Coletown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Coletown is located in Darke County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coletown
- Pikeville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pikeville is located in Darke County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikeville
- Mercer County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westchester, with the one closest to Westchester listed first.
- Macedon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Macedon is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedon
- Skeels Crossroads
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Skeels Crossroads is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skeels Crossroads
- Wabash
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Wabash is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabash
- Fort Recovery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Scudder
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Scudder is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scudder
- Wendelin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Wendelin is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendelin
- Coldwater
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Saint Henry
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Burkettsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Celina
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Earley ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Earley is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earley
- Tama
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Tama is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tama
- Montezuma
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Montezuma is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montezuma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
- Shelby County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westchester, with the one closest to Westchester listed first.
- Fort Laramie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Filburns Island
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Filburns Island is located in Shelby County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Filburns Island
- Van Wert County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westchester, with the one closest to Westchester listed first.
- Willshire
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Schumm
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Schumm is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schumm
- Abanaka
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Abanaka is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abanaka
- Wren
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Wren is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren
- Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wren <1>
- Glenmore
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Glenmore is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmore
- Ohio City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Elgin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Elgin is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Monticello
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Monticello is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
- Converse Station
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Converse Station is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse Station
- Convoy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Converse
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Converse is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse
- Van Wert
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Venedocia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Venedocia is located in Van Wert County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venedocia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Westchester, see our County-by-County Page for Westchester.
Cemeteries Near Westchester ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westchester.
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 Westchester - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Westchester covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Westchester, with the one closest to Westchester listed first.
- Old Baptist Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Stevenson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- St. Anthony Catholic Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Zion State Line Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion State Line Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Zion State Line Cemetery is located 8 miles [12.9 km]<2> to the north of Fort Recovery (OH).
- The Zion State Line Cemetery has also been known as:
- State Line Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #43583 <3>
- Daugherty Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Gravel Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Old Brethren Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Brethren Cemetery
- The Old Brethren Cemetery has also been known as:
- Bear Creek Cemetery
- Bearcreek Cemetery
- Boehm Cemetery
- Chapel Hill Cemetery
- Frank Boehm Farm Cemetery
- Macklin Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2194239 <3>
- Pingrey Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Jaque Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Anderson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lufborrow Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (360 more) ...
- Borris Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Whicker Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hearne Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Westchester had a population of 72 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Westchester, with the one closest to Westchester listed first.
- Bryant
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Antiville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Antiville is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antiville
- Brice
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Brice is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brice
- Padua
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Padua is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Padua
- New Corydon
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- New Corydon is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Corydon
- Jay City
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Jay City is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jay City
- Portland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Geneva
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Macedon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Macedon is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedon
- Skeels Crossroads
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Skeels Crossroads is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skeels Crossroads
- Corkwell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Corkwell is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corkwell
- Salamonia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Salamonia is located in Jay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salamonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Fort Recovery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ceylon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Ceylon is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
- Saint Peter
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Saint Peter is located in Mercer County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Peter
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Westchester. See our List of 1890's Communities around Westchester.
Newspapers Published in Westchester ...
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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Westchester.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Westchester, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Westchester.
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 Westchester:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Jay County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- Blackford County
- Delaware County
- Grant County
- Huntington County
- Randolph County
- Wells County
- Auglaize County
- Darke County
- Mercer County
- Shelby County
- Van Wert 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Westchester) 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 Westchester, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |