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 Durbin (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 Durbin. 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.
Durbin is located in Mercer 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 Mercer County: Adams (IN), Jay (IN), Auglaize, Darke, Shelby & Van Wert.
Below are the counties that are near Durbin. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Durbin:
- Mercer County (The home county of Durbin)
- The following are listed by their distance from Durbin, with the one closest to Durbin listed first.
- Scudder
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Scudder is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scudder
- Wabash
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wabash is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabash
- Skeels Crossroads
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Skeels Crossroads is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skeels Crossroads
- Tama
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tama is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tama
- Coldwater
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Macedon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Macedon is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedon
- Celina
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Earley ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Earley is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earley
- Rockford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Mercer
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mercer is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercer
- Montezuma
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Montezuma is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montezuma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
- Fort Recovery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Saint Henry
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Allen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Durbin, with the one closest to Durbin listed first.
- Spencerville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Landeck
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Landeck is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landeck
- Southworth
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Southworth is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southworth
- Conant
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Conant is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
- Delphos
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Scotts Crossing
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Scotts Crossing is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Crossing
- Elida
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Elida is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elida
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,810 people
- Auglaize County
- The following are listed by their distance from Durbin, with the one closest to Durbin listed first.
- Saint Marys
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- New Bremen
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Minster
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Moulton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Moulton is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton
- New Knoxville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- New Knoxville is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Knoxville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 862 people
- Buckland
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Buckland is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
- Pusheta Town ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Pusheta Town is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pusheta Town
- Wapakoneta
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Fryburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Fryburg is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fryburg
- Cridersville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Darke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Durbin, with the one closest to Durbin listed first.
- New Weston
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- North Star
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lightsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Lightsville is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lightsville
- Osgood
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Rossburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Yorkshire
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Brock
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Brock is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brock
- Frenchtown
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Frenchtown is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchtown
- Ansonia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Ansonia is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ansonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,120 people
- Dawn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Dawn is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawn
- Union City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Union City is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,585 people
- Versailles
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pikeville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Pikeville is located in Darke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikeville
- Miami County
- Bloomer
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bloomer is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomer
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Durbin, with the one closest to Durbin listed first.
- Filburns Island
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Filburns Island is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Filburns Island
- Fort Laramie
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Kettlersville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Lehmkuhl Landing
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lehmkuhl Landing is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lehmkuhl Landing
- Russia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Botkins
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Dawson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dawson is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Anna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Hardin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hardin is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardin
- Van Wert County
- The following are listed by their distance from Durbin, with the one closest to Durbin listed first.
- Abanaka
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Abanaka is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abanaka
- Schumm
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Schumm is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schumm
- Willshire
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Glenmore
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Glenmore is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmore
- Ohio City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Wren
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Elgin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Elgin is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Monticello
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Monticello is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
- Converse Station
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Converse Station is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse Station
- Converse
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Converse is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse
- Venedocia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Venedocia is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venedocia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
- Van Wert
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Convoy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Adams County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Durbin, with the one closest to Durbin listed first.
- Geneva
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Berne
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Mills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Monroe
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Coppess Corner
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Coppess Corner is located in Adams County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppess Corner
- Linn Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Linn Grove is located in Adams County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linn Grove
- Decatur
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Honduras
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Honduras is located in Adams County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honduras
- Preble
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Magley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Magley is located in Adams County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magley
- Allen County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Durbin, with the one closest to Durbin listed first.
- Dixon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Dixon is located in Allen County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
- Monroeville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Hoagland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Blackford County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Durbin, with the one closest to Durbin listed first.
- Ridertown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Ridertown is located in Blackford County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridertown
- Montpelier
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Jay County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Durbin, with the one closest to Durbin listed first.
- Jay City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Jay City is located in Jay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jay City
- Trinity
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Trinity is located in Jay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity
- Bryant
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Salamonia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Salamonia is located in Jay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salamonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
- Antiville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Antiville is located in Jay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antiville
- Bloomfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Bloomfield is located in Jay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
- Portland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Boundary City
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Boundary City is located in Jay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boundary City
- Bluff Point
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bluff Point is located in Jay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Point
- Collett
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Collett is located in Jay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collett
- Blaine
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Blaine is located in Jay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
- Pony
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Pony is located in Jay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pony
- Fiat
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Fiat is located in Jay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiat
- Randolph County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Durbin, with the one closest to Durbin listed first.
- New Pittsburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- New Pittsburg is located in Randolph County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Pittsburg
- Saratoga
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Union City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Ridgeville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ridgeville is located in Randolph County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 734 people
- Haysville Corner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Haysville Corner is located in Randolph County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haysville Corner
- Stone
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Stone is located in Randolph County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone
- Winchester
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wells County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Durbin, with the one closest to Durbin listed first.
- Phenix
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Phenix is located in Wells County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phenix
- Vera Cruz
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Vera Cruz is located in Wells County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vera Cruz
- Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
- Nottingham
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Nottingham is located in Wells County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nottingham
- Petroleum
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Petroleum is located in Wells County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petroleum
- Reiffsburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Reiffsburg is located in Wells County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reiffsburg
- Craigville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Craigville is located in Wells County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigville
- Bluffton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Greenville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Greenville is located in Wells County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Poneto
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Poneto is located in Wells County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poneto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
- Travisville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Travisville is located in Wells County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travisville
- North Oaks
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- North Oaks is located in Wells County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Oaks
- Tocsin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Tocsin is located in Wells County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tocsin
- Keystone
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Keystone is located in Wells County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Durbin, see our County-by-County Page for Durbin.
Cemeteries Near Durbin ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Durbin.
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 Durbin - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Durbin covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Durbin, with the one closest to Durbin listed first.
- Live Oak Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lutheran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Landfair Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Swamp College Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- St. Pauls Lutheran Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- St. Pauls UCC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Buck Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Skeels Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Zion State Line Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion State Line Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Zion State Line Cemetery is located 8 miles [12.9 km]<2> to the north of Fort Recovery.
- The Zion State Line Cemetery has also been known as:
- State Line Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #43583 <3>
- St. Anthony Catholic Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mercer Memory Gardens
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Liberty Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (389 more) ...
- Liberty Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- East Bethel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Macedon Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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 Durbin in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Durbin.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Durbin, with the one closest to Durbin listed first.
- Wabash
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wabash is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabash
- Scudder
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Scudder is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scudder
- Hinton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Hinton is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinton
- Erastus
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Erastus is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erastus
- Brehm ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Brehm is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brehm
- Skeels Crossroads
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Skeels Crossroads is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skeels Crossroads
- Padua
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Padua is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Padua
- Macedon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Macedon is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedon
- Coldwater
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tama
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tama is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tama
- Chattanooga
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Chattanooga is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattanooga
- New Corydon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- New Corydon is located in Jay County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Corydon
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Saint Peter
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Saint Peter is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Peter
- Celina
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Earley ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Earley is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earley
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Durbin. See our List of 1890's Communities around Durbin.
Newspapers Published in Durbin ...
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 132 newspapers that have been published in the area around Durbin.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Durbin, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Durbin.
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 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 Durbin:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Mercer County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allen County
- Auglaize County
- Darke County
- Miami County
- Shelby County
- Van Wert County
- Adams County
- Allen County
- Blackford County
- Jay County
- Randolph County
- Wells 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Durbin) 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 Durbin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |