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 Ridgeville (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 Ridgeville. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Ridgeville is located in Lenawee County.
To see how the shape of Michigan's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Lenawee County: Hillsdale, Jackson, Monroe, Washtenaw, Fulton (OH) & Lucas (OH).
Below are the counties that are near Ridgeville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ridgeville:
- Lenawee County (The home county of Ridgeville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Jasper
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Jasper is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jasper
- Ogden Center
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Ogden Center is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden Center
- Weston
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Weston is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
- Sand Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sand Creek is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Creek
- Friendly Village of Adrian
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Palmyra
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Palmyra is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
- Seneca
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Seneca is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
- Adrian
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Blissfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Riga
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Riga is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riga
- Morenci
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- North Morenci
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- North Morenci is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Morenci
- Canandaigua
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Canandaigua is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canandaigua
- Hillsdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Prattville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Prattville is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prattville
- Waldron
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Waldron is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 521 people
- Locust Corners
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Locust Corners is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Corners
- Lickly Corners
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Lickly Corners is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickly Corners
- Pittsford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Buckeye ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Buckeye is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
- Ransom
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Ransom is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ransom
- Shadyside
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Shadyside is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadyside
- Somerset
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Somerset Center
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Somerset Center is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset Center
- Osseo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Jerome
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- North Adams
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- North Adams is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Adams
- Population from the 2020 Census: 461 people
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Brooklyn
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Norvell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Norvell is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norvell
- Clarklake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Napoleon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Berringer Corners ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Berringer Corners is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berringer Corners
- Petersburg Junction
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Petersburg Junction is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg Junction
- Petersburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Lambertville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Liberty Corners
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Liberty Corners is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Corners
- Lulu
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Lulu is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lulu
- Federman ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Federman is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Federman
- Samaria
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Samaria is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samaria
- Temperance
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Cone
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Cone is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cone
- Diann
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Diann is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diann
- Dundee
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Azalia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Azalia is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Azalia
- Washtenaw County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Manchester
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Bridgewater
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Rowes Corner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Rowes Corner is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowes Corner
- Sharon Hollow
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Sharon Hollow is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon Hollow
- Saline
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Fulton County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Whiteville ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Whiteville is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteville
- Lyons
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Leslie ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Leslie is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leslie
- Metamora
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Siney ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Siney is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siney
- Lytton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lytton is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lytton
- Denson ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Denson is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denson
- Assumption
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Assumption is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assumption
- Ai
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ai is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ai
- Advance
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Advance is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advance
- Oakshade
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Oakshade is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakshade
- Inlet ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Inlet is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inlet
- Delta
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Henry County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Colton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Colton is located in Henry County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colton
- Liberty Center
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Napoleon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Ridgeville Corners
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ridgeville Corners is located in Henry County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville Corners
- McClure
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Grelton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Grelton is located in Henry County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grelton
- Okolona
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Okolona is located in Henry County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okolona
- Okolona has also been known as:
- Okalona
- Malinta
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lucas County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Berkey
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Berkey is located in Lucas County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Sharples
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sharples is located in Lucas County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharples
- Centennial ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Centennial is located in Lucas County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centennial
- Fort Industry ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Fort Industry is located in Lucas County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Industry
- Sylvania
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Holland
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Whitehouse
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ottawa Hills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Ottawa Hills is located in Lucas County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottawa Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,534 people
- Auburndale ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Auburndale is located in Lucas County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburndale
- Wernerts Corners
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Wernerts Corners is located in Lucas County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wernerts Corners
- Bailey ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bailey is located in Lucas County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- Bailey has also been known as:
- Bailey Station
- Maumee
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Waterville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Williams County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Alvordton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- West Unity
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Kunkle
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Kunkle is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kunkle
- Stryker
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pioneer
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Holiday City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Holiday City is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
- Pulaski
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pulaski is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Jim Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Jim Town is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jim Town
- Wood County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Grand Rapids
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Bates
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bates is located in Wood County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bates
- Haskins
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Perrysburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Rossford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Arbor Hills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Arbor Hills is located in Wood County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbor Hills
- Tontogany
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Northwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Lime City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lime City is located in Wood County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime City
- Walbridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Dowling
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dowling is located in Wood County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowling
- Weston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ridgeville, see our County-by-County Page for Ridgeville.
Cemeteries Near Ridgeville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ridgeville.
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 Ridgeville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ridgeville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Ridgeville Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Luke Farm Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Brock Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Peebles Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Reed Grave
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- New Weston Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Hunt Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Fairfield Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Lyons Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hagaman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Old Weston Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Edgar Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (405 more) ...
- Zion United Brethren Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Sand Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Our Lady of Fatima Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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.<2>
While we didn't find Ridgeville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ridgeville.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Jasper
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Jasper is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jasper
- Fairfield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Fairfield is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
- South Fairfield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- South Fairfield is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Fairfield
- Ogden Center
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Ogden Center is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden Center
- Lyons
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Seward
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Seward is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seward
- Ogden
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ogden is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden
- Weston
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Weston is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
- Metamora
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sand Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sand Creek is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Creek
- Siney ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Siney is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siney
- Palmyra
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Palmyra is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Seneca
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Seneca is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
- Oakshade
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Oakshade is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakshade
- Winameg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Winameg is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winameg
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ridgeville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ridgeville.
Newspapers Published in Ridgeville ...
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 121 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ridgeville.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ridgeville, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ridgeville.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Ridgeville:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Lenawee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hillsdale County
- Jackson County
- Monroe County
- Washtenaw County
- Fulton County
- Henry County
- Lucas County
- Williams County
- Wood County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Michigan
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> | 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 Ridgeville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 from Point A (ie- Ridgeville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |