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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 Continental (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 Continental. 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.

Continental is located in Putnam 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 Putnam County: Allen, Defiance, Hancock, Henry, Paulding, Van Wert & Wood.

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

  • Putnam County     (The home county of Continental)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Continental, with the one closest to Continental listed first.
    • Hartsburg
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Hartsburg is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsburg
    • Kieferville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Kieferville is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kieferville
    • Dupont
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cloverdale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Cloverdale is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
    • Miller City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Muntanna
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Muntanna is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muntanna
    • Kalida
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Glandorf
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Ottoville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Ottawa
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • West Leipsic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • West Leipsic is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leipsic
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 188 people
    • Fort Jennings
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Allen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Continental, with the one closest to Continental listed first.
    • Delphos
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Gomer
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Scotts Crossing
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Scotts Crossing is located in Allen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Crossing
    • Cairo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Cairo is located in Allen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 520 people
    • West Cairo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • West Cairo is located in Allen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Cairo
    • Elida
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Elida is located in Allen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elida
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,810 people
    • Landeck
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Landeck is located in Allen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landeck
    • Southworth
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Southworth is located in Allen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southworth
    • Beaverdam
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Bluffton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Lima
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Lima is located in Allen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lima
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 36,440 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lima <1>
    • Conant
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Conant is located in Allen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
  • Defiance County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Continental, with the one closest to Continental listed first.
    • Ayersville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Ayersville is located in Defiance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayersville
    • Defiance
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Williamstown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Williamstown is located in Defiance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
    • Jewell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jewell is located in Defiance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
    • Brunersburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Brunersburg is located in Defiance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunersburg
    • Sherwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Ney
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Ney is located in Defiance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ney
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 337 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ney <1>
    • Hicksville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Continental, with the one closest to Continental listed first.
    • Archbold
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Pettisville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Pettisville is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettisville
  • Hancock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Continental, with the one closest to Continental listed first.
    • Hancock
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Hancock is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
    • Moffitt ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Moffitt is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt
    • McComb
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Benton Ridge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Benton Ridge is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton Ridge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 289 people
    • Lewisburg ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Lewisburg is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
    • Mount Cory
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Cory is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cory
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
    • Rawson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Cannonsburg ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Cannonsburg is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannonsburg
  • Henry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Continental, with the one closest to Continental listed first.
    • Pleasant Bend
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Pleasant Bend is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Bend
    • New Bavaria
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • New Bavaria is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bavaria
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
    • Holgate
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Florida
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Florida is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florida
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
    • Hamler
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Okolona
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Okolona is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okolona
      • Okolona has also been known as:
      • Okalona
    • Elery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Elery is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elery
    • Malinta
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Deshler
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Napoleon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Grelton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Grelton is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grelton
    • Ridgeville Corners
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Ridgeville Corners is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville Corners
  • Paulding County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Continental, with the one closest to Continental listed first.
    • Oakwood
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Oakwood is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
    • Murat ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Murat is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murat
      • Former names for Murat:
      • Hipp's Lock
      • Timberville
    • Mandale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Mandale is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandale
    • Fort Brown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Fort Brown is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Brown
    • Melrose
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Melrose is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 259 people
    • Charloe
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Charloe is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charloe
    • Saint Andrews ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Saint Andrews is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Andrews
    • Junction
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Junction is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
    • Grover Hill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Grover Hill is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover Hill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 377 people
    • Hedges
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Hedges is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedges
    • Broughton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Broughton is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broughton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
    • Renollet ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Renollet is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renollet
  • Van Wert County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Continental, with the one closest to Continental listed first.
    • Hoaglin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Hoaglin is located in Van Wert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoaglin
    • Scott
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Middle Point
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Van Wert
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Venedocia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Venedocia is located in Van Wert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venedocia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
    • Converse
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Converse is located in Van Wert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse
    • Converse Station
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Converse Station is located in Van Wert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse Station
    • Convoy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Elgin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Elgin is located in Van Wert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
    • Monticello
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Monticello is located in Van Wert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
    • Ohio City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Dixon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Dixon is located in Van Wert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
  • Williams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Continental, with the one closest to Continental listed first.
    • Stryker
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Bryan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Bryan is located in Williams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,212 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bryan <1>
  • Wood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Continental, with the one closest to Continental listed first.
    • Hoytville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Hoytville is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoytville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 318 people
    • Custar
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Milton Center
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Milton Center is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Center
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
    • Grand Rapids
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Weston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Allen County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Continental, with the one closest to Continental listed first.
    • Edgerton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Edgerton is located in Allen County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
    • Dixon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Dixon is located in Allen County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
    • Woodburn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Continental ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Continental.

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

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

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

  • Monroe Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Wing Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Dickey Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Kieferville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • New Bethany Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Franconia Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Varner Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Isadores Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Prairie Chapel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (382 more) ...
    • Cascade Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Cascade Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<2> to the east of Cloverdale.
      • The Cascade Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Myers Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2308500 <3>
    • Oakwood Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Holden 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Continental had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Continental had a population of 1,085 people.

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

  • Hector
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Hector is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hector
  • Wisterman
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Wisterman is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wisterman
  • Hartsburg
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Hartsburg is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsburg
  • Dupont
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Rice
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Rice is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice
  • Kieferville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Kieferville is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kieferville
  • North Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • North Creek is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Creek
  • Cascade
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Cascade is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
  • Huntstown ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Huntstown is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntstown
  • Pleasant Bend
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Pleasant Bend is located in Henry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Bend
  • Avis
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Avis is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avis
  • Miller City
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Melrose
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Melrose is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 259 people
    • Plumbs Cross Roads ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Plumbs Cross Roads is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumbs Cross Roads
    • Muntanna
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Muntanna is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muntanna

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Continental ...

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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Continental.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Continental. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Continental and those printed in the larger area surrounding Continental.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<2> of Continental.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Continental:

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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Continental) 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 Continental, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.