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 Big Island (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 Big Island. 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 Big Island ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Big Island: Big Is. (in Canada, 'Isld.' is the more common abbreviation.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Big Island. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Big Island.
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 southeast 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 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.
Big Island is located in Marion 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 Marion County: Crawford, Delaware, Hardin, Morrow, Union & Wyandot.
Below are the counties that are near Big Island. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Big Island:
- Marion County (The home county of Big Island)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Ruth
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Ruth is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Gurley ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Gurley is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gurley
- Marion
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Morral
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Morral is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morral
- Population from the 2020 Census: 382 people
- Green Camp
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Green Camp is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Camp
- Population from the 2020 Census: 356 people
- New Bloomington
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- New Bloomington is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bloomington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 511 people
- Logan ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Logan is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan
- Newmans
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Newmans is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newmans
- La Rue
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- La Rue is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Rue
- Population from the 2020 Census: 711 people
- Prospect
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Waldo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Caledonia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Martel
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Martel is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martel
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Oceola
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Oceola is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oceola
- Bucyrus
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Lemert
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Lemert is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemert
- Benton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Benton is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Broken Sword
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Broken Sword is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broken Sword
- Broken Sword has also been known as:
- Bloody Corners
- Porterville
- Wingarts Corners
- Wingert Corners
- Wingerts Corners
- North Robinson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- North Robinson is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Robinson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 198 people
- Galion
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Leesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Leesville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
- Chatfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Chatfield is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Crestline
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Washington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Tiro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Delaware County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Kerr Corner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Kerr Corner is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerr Corner
- Robertsburg ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Robertsburg is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robertsburg
- Norton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Norton is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton
- Meredith
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Meredith is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith
- Pickerell's Mills ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Pickerell's Mills is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickerell's Mills
- Radnor
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Radnor is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radnor
- Inskeep Corners ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Inskeep Corners is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inskeep Corners
- Troyton ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Troyton is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troyton
- Windsor Corners ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Windsor Corners is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor Corners
- Coles Mills ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Coles Mills is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coles Mills
- Ashley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Boke's Creek Settlement ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Boke's Creek Settlement is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boke's Creek Settlement
- Boke's Creek Settlement has also been known as:
- Boke's Creek
- Lybrand ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Lybrand is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lybrand
- Hancock County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Mount Blanchard
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Williamstown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Williamstown is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- Vanlue
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Vanlue is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanlue
- Population from the 2020 Census: 351 people
- Arlington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hardin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Pfeiffer
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Pfeiffer is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pfeiffer
- Mount Victory
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- McVitty
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- McVitty is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVitty
- Patterson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Patterson is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Grant
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Grant is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
- Ridgeway
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Ridgeway is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 328 people
- Forest
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Kenton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Dunkirk
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dola
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jumbo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Jumbo is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumbo
- Huntersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Huntersville is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntersville
- McGuffey
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- McGuffey is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGuffey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 484 people
- Logan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- West Mansfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- West Mansfield is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Mansfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 678 people
- Rushsylvania
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Marl City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Marl City is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marl City
- Belle Center
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Belle Center is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 810 people
- Middleburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Zanesfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- New Richland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- New Richland is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richland
- Morrow County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Shawtown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Shawtown is located in Morrow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawtown
- Westfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Westfield is located in Morrow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
- Edison
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Cardington
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Iberia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Iberia is located in Morrow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iberia
- Mount Gilead
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- West Point
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- West Point is located in Morrow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
- Fulton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- West Liberty
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- West Liberty is located in Morrow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Liberty
- Marengo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Blooming Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Blooming Grove is located in Morrow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blooming Grove
- Chesterville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Vails Corners
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Vails Corners is located in Morrow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vails Corners
- Richland County
- Bethlehem
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bethlehem is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
- Seneca County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- McCutchenville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Adrian
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Melmore
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Melmore is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melmore
- Berwick
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Berwick is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwick
- New Riegel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Carrothers
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Carrothers is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrothers
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Richwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Summersville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Summersville is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summersville
- Magnetic Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Magnetic Springs is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnetic Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 304 people
- Pharisburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Pharisburg is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pharisburg
- Raymond
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- New Dover
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- New Dover is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Dover
- Marysville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Jerome
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Jerome is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
- Wyandot County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Harpster
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Wyandot
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wyandot is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyandot
- Marseilles
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Marseilles is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marseilles
- Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
- Nevada
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Upper Sandusky
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Upper Sandusky is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Sandusky
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,436 people
- Kirby
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Belle Vernon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Belle Vernon is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Vernon
- Wharton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wharton is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wharton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
- Duenquat
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Duenquat is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duenquat
- Sycamore
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Sycamore is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 811 people
- Carey
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Mexico
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Mexico is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexico
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Big Island, see our County-by-County Page for Big Island.
Cemeteries Near Big Island ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Island.
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 Big Island - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Big Island covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Kannel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Page Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Union Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Salem Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- German Reform Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Rayl Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Brewer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Chapel Heights Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fitzhugh Grave
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Agosta Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Reidel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (498 more) ...
- Green Camp Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Sullivan Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Harding Memorial Park
(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.<2>
While we didn't find Big Island in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Big Island.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Longville ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Longville is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longville
- Espyville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Espyville is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Espyville
- Gurley ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Gurley is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gurley
- Ruth
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Ruth is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Marion
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Green Camp
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Green Camp is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Camp
- Population from the 2020 Census: 356 people
- Morral
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Morral is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morral
- Population from the 2020 Census: 382 people
- DeCliff
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- DeCliff is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeCliff
- Owens
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Owens is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owens
- Logan ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Logan is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan
- La Rue
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- La Rue is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Rue
- Population from the 2020 Census: 711 people
- Harpster
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Little Sandusky
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Little Sandusky is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sandusky
- Woodland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Woodland is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
- Wyandot
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wyandot is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyandot
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Big Island. See our List of 1890's Communities around Big Island.
Newspapers Published in Big Island ...
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 63 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Island.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Island, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Big Island.
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 helpful 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 Big Island:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Marion County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Crawford County
- Delaware County
- Hancock County
- Hardin County
- Logan County
- Morrow County
- Richland County
- Seneca County
- Union County
- Wyandot 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> | 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 Big Island, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Big Island) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |