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 Ballou (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 Ballou. 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 hospitals 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.
Ballou is located in Shelby 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 Shelby County: Auglaize, Champaign, Darke, Logan & Miami.
Below are the counties that are near Ballou. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ballou:
- Shelby County (The home county of Ballou)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ballou, with the one closest to Ballou listed first.
- Pasco
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Pasco is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pasco
- Sidney
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Port Jefferson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Lockington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Lockington is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
- Hardin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hardin is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardin
- Maplewood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Maplewood is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
- Anna
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dawson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Dawson is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Jackson Center
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Montra
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Montra is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montra
- Filburns Island
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Filburns Island is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Filburns Island
- Lehmkuhl Landing
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Lehmkuhl Landing is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lehmkuhl Landing
- Russia
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Auglaize County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ballou, with the one closest to Ballou listed first.
- Santa Fe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Santa Fe is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Fe
- Minster
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fryburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Fryburg is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fryburg
- New Bremen
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Johns
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Saint Johns is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
- New Knoxville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- New Knoxville is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Knoxville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 862 people
- Pusheta Town ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Pusheta Town is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pusheta Town
- Wapakoneta
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Uniopolis
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Uniopolis is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniopolis
- Estimated population in 2016: 220 people
- Moulton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Moulton is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton
- Waynesfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Waynesfield is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waynesfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 815 people
- Saint Marys
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Champaign County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ballou, with the one closest to Ballou listed first.
- Carysville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Carysville is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carysville
- Millerstown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Millerstown is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerstown
- Saint Paris
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Christiansburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Westville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Westville is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville
- Kingscreek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Kingscreek is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingscreek
- Urbana
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Mingo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Powhattan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Powhattan is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhattan
- Mutual
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Mutual is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mutual
- Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
- North Lewisburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Mechanicsburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Woodstock
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Woodstock is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
- Clark County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ballou, with the one closest to Ballou listed first.
- Dialton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Dialton is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dialton
- Dodo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Dodo is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodo
- North Hampton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- North Hampton is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hampton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- New Carlisle
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Lawrenceville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lawrenceville is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceville
- Tremont City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Owl Town ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Owl Town is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owl Town
- Eagle City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Eagle City is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle City
- Donnelsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Donnelsville is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnelsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Northridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Northridge is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northridge
- Crystal Lakes
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Crystal Lakes is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lakes
- Greenlawn Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Greenlawn Village is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlawn Village
- Oakwood Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Oakwood Village is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Village
- Darke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ballou, with the one closest to Ballou listed first.
- Versailles
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Gettysburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Gettysburg is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gettysburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 809 people
- Frenchtown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Frenchtown is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchtown
- Osgood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Yorkshire
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Pitsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Brock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Brock is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brock
- Stelvideo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Stelvideo is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stelvideo
- Dawn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Dawn is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawn
- Poplar Ridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Poplar Ridge is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Ridge
- North Star
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Pikeville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Pikeville is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikeville
- Abbottsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Abbottsville is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbottsville
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ballou, with the one closest to Ballou listed first.
- Fairborn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Yellow Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Clifton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hardin County
- Roundhead
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Logan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ballou, with the one closest to Ballou listed first.
- Quincy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- De Graff
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Logansville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Logansville is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logansville
- West Liberty
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Iron City
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Iron City is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Bellefontaine
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Russells Point
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Valley Hi
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Valley Hi is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Hi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
- Lakeview
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Huntsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Zanesfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- New Richland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- New Richland is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richland
- Marl City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Marl City is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marl City
- Mercer County
- Chickasaw
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Miami County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ballou, with the one closest to Ballou listed first.
- Conover
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Conover is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conover
- Lena
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Lena is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lena
- Fletcher
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fletcher is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
- Population from the 2020 Census: 486 people
- Casstown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Piqua
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Alcony
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Alcony is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcony
- Troy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Polo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Polo is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polo
- Covington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- West Covington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- West Covington is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Covington
- Tipp City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Bloomer
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Bloomer is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomer
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ballou, with the one closest to Ballou listed first.
- Tadmor ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Tadmor is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tadmor
- Huber Heights
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Sulphur Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Sulphur Grove is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Grove
- Vandalia
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Union
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hooks Corner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Hooks Corner is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooks Corner
- Clayton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Englewood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Shiloh
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Shiloh is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Northview
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Northview is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northview
- Phillipsburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Phillipsburg is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 550 people
- Northridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Northridge is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northridge
- Riverside
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Preble County
- Verona
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ballou, see our County-by-County Page for Ballou.
Cemeteries Near Ballou ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ballou.
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 Ballou - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ballou covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ballou, with the one closest to Ballou listed first.
- Anderson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Dorsey Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Pioneer Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Plattsville Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Sturm Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Leatherwood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Neal Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fletcher Presbyterian Churchyard Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fletcher Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Roberts Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rusk Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Rosedale Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Continue List (541 more) ...
- Orange Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Old Dunkard Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Ballou had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ballou, with the one closest to Ballou listed first.
- Plattsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Plattsville is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattsville
- Tawawa
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Tawawa is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tawawa
- Depew
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Depew is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Depew
- Fletcher
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fletcher is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
- Population from the 2020 Census: 486 people
- Conover
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Conover is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conover
- Lena
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Lena is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lena
- Carysville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Carysville is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carysville
- Pemberton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Pemberton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
- Saint Paris
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Millerstown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Millerstown is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerstown
- Kirkwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Kirkwood is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkwood
- Crayon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Crayon is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crayon
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Quincy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Sidney
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Port Jefferson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ballou. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ballou.
Newspapers Published in Ballou ...
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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ballou.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ballou, 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 Ballou.
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 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 Ballou:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Shelby County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Auglaize County
- Champaign County
- Clark County
- Darke County
- Greene County
- Hardin County
- Logan County
- Mercer County
- Miami County
- Montgomery County
- Preble County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Ohio
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 Ballou, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ballou) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |