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 Bears Mill (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 Bears Mill. 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 Bears Mill ...
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.
- A typical abbreviation for Bears Mill: Bears Ml. (or less commonly used: Bears Mll.)
- While the name of this community is Bears Mill, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Bears Mill may originally have been Bear's Mill.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Bears Mill might be written as Bear Mill.
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 and 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.
Bears Mill is located in Darke 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 Darke County: Jay (IN), Randolph (IN), Wayne (IN), Mercer, Miami, Montgomery, Preble & Shelby.
Below are the counties that are near Bears Mill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bears Mill:
- Darke County (The home county of Bears Mill)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bears Mill, with the one closest to Bears Mill listed first.
- Gettysburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Gettysburg is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gettysburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 809 people
- Stelvideo
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Stelvideo is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stelvideo
- Poplar Ridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Poplar Ridge is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Ridge
- Greenville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Pikeville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Pikeville is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikeville
- Abbottsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Abbottsville is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbottsville
- Dawn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Dawn is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawn
- Versailles
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Ansonia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Ansonia is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ansonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,120 people
- Arcanum
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Pitsburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Fort Jefferson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fort Jefferson is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Jefferson
- Coletown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Coletown is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coletown
- Auglaize County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bears Mill, with the one closest to Bears Mill listed first.
- Minster
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- New Bremen
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- New Knoxville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- New Knoxville is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Knoxville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 862 people
- Saint Marys
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Champaign County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bears Mill, with the one closest to Bears Mill listed first.
- Christiansburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Carysville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Carysville is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carysville
- Saint Paris
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Clark County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bears Mill, with the one closest to Bears Mill listed first.
- New Carlisle
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dodo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Dodo is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodo
- Park Layne
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Park Layne is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Layne
- Mercer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bears Mill, with the one closest to Bears Mill listed first.
- Burkettsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Saint Henry
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Wendelin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Wendelin is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendelin
- Chickasaw
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Fort Recovery
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Coldwater
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Montezuma
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Montezuma is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montezuma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
- Macedon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Macedon is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedon
- Celina
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Miami County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bears Mill, with the one closest to Bears Mill listed first.
- Bradford
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Bloomer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bloomer is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomer
- Covington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- West Covington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- West Covington is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Covington
- Polo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Polo is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polo
- Laura
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Potsdam
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Potsdam is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potsdam
- Population from the 2020 Census: 295 people
- Ludlow Falls
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ludlow Falls is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow Falls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Piqua
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Garland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Garland is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
- West Milton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kessler
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kessler is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kessler
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bears Mill, with the one closest to Bears Mill listed first.
- Wengerlawn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Wengerlawn is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wengerlawn
- Phillipsburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Phillipsburg is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 550 people
- Arlington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Arlington is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Union
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Brookville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Clayton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Pyrmont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Pyrmont is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pyrmont
- Englewood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Airhill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Airhill is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airhill
- Northview
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Northview is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northview
- Kreitzer Corner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Kreitzer Corner is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kreitzer Corner
- Tadmor ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Tadmor is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tadmor
- Trotwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Preble County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bears Mill, with the one closest to Bears Mill listed first.
- Verona
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- West Manchester
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Eldorado
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Eldorado is located in Preble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
- Population from the 2020 Census: 490 people
- Euphemia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Euphemia is located in Preble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Euphemia
- Lewisburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- New Paris
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- New Hope
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- New Hope is located in Preble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Eaton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- West Alexandria
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Ingomar
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Ingomar is located in Preble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingomar
- Corvin ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Corvin is located in Preble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corvin
- Lake Lakengren
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lake Lakengren is located in Preble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Lakengren
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bears Mill, with the one closest to Bears Mill listed first.
- Russia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dawson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dawson is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Lockington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lockington is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
- Fort Laramie
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Hardin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hardin is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardin
- Filburns Island
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Filburns Island is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Filburns Island
- Lehmkuhl Landing
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Lehmkuhl Landing is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lehmkuhl Landing
- Sidney
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Pasco
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pasco is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pasco
- Anna
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Kettlersville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Port Jefferson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Botkins
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jay County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bears Mill, with the one closest to Bears Mill listed first.
- Boundary City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Boundary City is located in Jay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boundary City
- Salamonia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Salamonia is located in Jay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salamonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
- Bluff Point
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bluff Point is located in Jay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Point
- Collett
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Collett is located in Jay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collett
- Randolph County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bears Mill, with the one closest to Bears Mill listed first.
- Union City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Haysville Corner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Haysville Corner is located in Randolph County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haysville Corner
- Spartanburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Spartanburg is located in Randolph County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spartanburg
- Arba
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Arba is located in Randolph County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arba
- Saratoga
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lynn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Lynn is located in Randolph County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,006 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lynn <2>
- Rural
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Rural is located in Randolph County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural
- Snow Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Snow Hill is located in Randolph County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- New Pittsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- New Pittsburg is located in Randolph County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Pittsburg
- Winchester
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Bloomingport
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Bloomingport is located in Randolph County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingport
- Stone
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Stone is located in Randolph County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone
- Ridgeville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ridgeville is located in Randolph County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 734 people
- Wayne County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bears Mill, with the one closest to Bears Mill listed first.
- Whitewater
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Whitewater is located in Wayne County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitewater
- Population from the 2020 Census: 70 people
- Fountain City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Chester
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Chester is located in Wayne County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
- Spring Grove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Grove is located in Wayne County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 319 people
- Webster
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Webster is located in Wayne County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Richmond
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Williamsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Williamsburg is located in Wayne County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
- Boston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Greens Fork
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Economy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Economy is located in Wayne County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Economy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bears Mill, see our County-by-County Page for Bears Mill.
Cemeteries Near Bears Mill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bears Mill.
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 Bears Mill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bears Mill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bears Mill, with the one closest to Bears Mill listed first.
- Erisman Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- East Zion Community Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Martin Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Gettysburg Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Oakland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- St. Johns Lutheran Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Stelvideo Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Miller Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Stoner Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Coppess Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Wakefield Lutheran Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (455 more) ...
- Childrens Home Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- County Home Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Old Abbottsville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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 Bears Mill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bears Mill.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bears Mill, with the one closest to Bears Mill listed first.
- Stelvideo
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Stelvideo is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stelvideo
- Poplar Ridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Poplar Ridge is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Ridge
- Gettysburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Gettysburg is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gettysburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 809 people
- Horatio
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Horatio is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horatio
- Greenville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jaysville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jaysville is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaysville
- Red River
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Red River is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red River
- Beamsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Beamsville is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beamsville
- Bradford
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Pikeville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Pikeville is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikeville
- Delisle
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Delisle is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delisle
- Painter Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Painter Creek is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Painter Creek
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Webster
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Webster is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Dawn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Dawn is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawn
- Fort Jefferson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fort Jefferson is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Jefferson
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bears Mill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bears Mill.
Newspapers Published in Bears Mill ...
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 82 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bears Mill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bears Mill, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bears Mill.
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 Bears Mill:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Darke County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Auglaize County
- Champaign County
- Clark County
- Mercer County
- Miami County
- Montgomery County
- Preble County
- Shelby County
- Jay County
- Randolph County
- Wayne County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Ohio
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Bears Mill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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- Bears Mill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |