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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 Amherst (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 Amherst. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Amherst is located in Lorain County.

To see how the shape of Ohio's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Lorain County: Ashland, Cuyahoga, Erie, Huron & Medina.

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

  • Lorain County     (The home county of Amherst)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Amherst, with the one closest to Amherst listed first.
    • South Amherst
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • South Amherst is located in Lorain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Amherst
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,663 people
    • Brownhelm Station
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Brownhelm Station is located in Lorain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownhelm Station
    • Lorain
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Henrietta
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Henrietta is located in Lorain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
    • Vermilion-on-the-Lake
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Elyria
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Sheffield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Oberlin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Vermilion
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Sheffield Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Nickelplate ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Nickelplate is located in Lorain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickelplate
    • Avon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Avon is located in Lorain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23,745 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Avon <1>
  • Ashland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Amherst, with the one closest to Amherst listed first.
    • Nova
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Ruggles
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Ruggles is located in Ashland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruggles
    • Albion
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Albion is located in Ashland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
    • Savannah
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Champaign County
    • Rochester
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Rochester is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
  • Cuyahoga County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Amherst, with the one closest to Amherst listed first.
    • North Olmsted
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Westlake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Bay Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • North Dover
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • North Dover is located in Cuyahoga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dover
    • Olmsted Falls
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Fairview Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Berea
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Berea is located in Cuyahoga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berea
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,508 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Berea <1>
    • Binola
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Binola is located in Cuyahoga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binola
    • Rockport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Rockport is located in Cuyahoga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockport
    • Rocky River
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Strongsville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Brook Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Erie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Amherst, with the one closest to Amherst listed first.
    • Birmingham
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Florence
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Florence is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
    • Berlin Heights
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Berlinville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Berlinville is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlinville
    • Shinrock
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Shinrock is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shinrock
    • Huron
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • North Milan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • North Milan is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Milan
    • Avery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Avery is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
    • Milan
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Bogart
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Bogart is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogart
    • Fairview Lanes
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Fairview Lanes is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Lanes
    • Sandusky
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Huron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Amherst, with the one closest to Amherst listed first.
    • Wakeman
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • White Fox
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • White Fox is located in Huron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Fox
    • Collins
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Collins is located in Huron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
    • East Townsend
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • East Townsend is located in Huron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Townsend
    • West Clarksfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • West Clarksfield is located in Huron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Clarksfield
    • Hartland Station
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Hartland Station is located in Huron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland Station
    • Hartland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Hartland is located in Huron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
    • Norwalk
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Olena
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Olena is located in Huron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olena
    • New London
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Fitchville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Fitchville is located in Huron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitchville
    • Monroeville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Medina County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Amherst, with the one closest to Amherst listed first.
    • Litchfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Valley City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Valley City Station
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Valley City Station is located in Medina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley City Station
    • Risley ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Risley is located in Medina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Risley
    • River Corners
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • River Corners is located in Medina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Corners
    • Spencer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Abbeyville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Abbeyville is located in Medina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbeyville
    • Brunswick
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Pawnee
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Pawnee is located in Medina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee
    • Homer
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Homer is located in Medina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
    • Medina
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Briarwood Beach ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Briarwood Beach is located in Medina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarwood Beach
  • Ottawa County
    • Marblehead
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Amherst, with the one closest to Amherst listed first.
    • West Salem
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Burbank
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Amherst ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Amherst.

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

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

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

  • Cleveland Street Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Crownhill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Middle Ridge Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Kendeigh Corner Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Elyria Jewish Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elyria Jewish Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Elyria Jewish Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<2> to the west of Elyria.
    • The Elyria Jewish Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Agudath Achim Cemetery
    • Agudath Achim Jewish Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #40716 <3>
  • Ridge Hill Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Calvary Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Lorain.
    • The Calvary Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Calvary Catholic Cemetery
    • Calvary Cemetery Park
    • Calvary Park
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #40162 <3>
  • Elmwood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Elmwood Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Lorain.
    • The Elmwood Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Highland Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #40715 <3>
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Salem Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (286 more) ...
    • Claus Family Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Brownhelm Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • North Murray Ridge Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)

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 Amherst had a population of 1,916 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Amherst had a population of 12,387 people.

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

  • Brownhelm
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Brownhelm is located in Lorain County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownhelm
  • Brownhelm Station
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Brownhelm Station is located in Lorain County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownhelm Station
  • Lorain
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Henrietta
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Henrietta is located in Lorain County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
  • Elyria
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Axtel
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Axtel is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axtel
  • Oberlin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Sheffield
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Vermilion
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Birmingham
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Laporte
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Laporte is located in Lorain County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laporte
  • Crandall
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Crandall is located in Lorain County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crandall
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Lake Breeze
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Lake Breeze is located in Lorain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Breeze
    • Nickelplate ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Nickelplate is located in Lorain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickelplate
    • Kipton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Kipton is located in Lorain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kipton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Amherst ...

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 167 newspapers that have been published in the area around Amherst.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Amherst. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Amherst and those printed in the larger area surrounding Amherst.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<2> of Amherst.

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 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 Amherst:

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 from Point A (ie- Amherst) 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 Amherst, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.