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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 Findlay (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 Findlay. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Findlay is located in Hancock County and is the County Seat.

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 Hancock County: Allen, Hardin, Henry, Putnam, Seneca, Wood & Wyandot.

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

  • Hancock County     (The home county of Findlay)
  • Allen County
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Findlay, with the one closest to Findlay listed first.
    • Benton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Lemert
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Hardin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Findlay, with the one closest to Findlay listed first.
    • Dunkirk
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Dola
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Forest
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Patterson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Patterson is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
    • McVitty
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Ada
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Ada is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,532 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ada <1>
    • Grant
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Huntersville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Huntersville is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntersville
    • McGuffey
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • McGuffey is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGuffey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 484 people
    • Alger
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Kenton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Pfeiffer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Henry County
  • Lucas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Findlay, with the one closest to Findlay listed first.
    • Bailey ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Bailey is located in Lucas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
      • Bailey has also been known as:
      • Bailey Station
    • Tondagamies Village ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Tondagamies Village is located in Lucas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tondagamies Village
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Findlay, with the one closest to Findlay listed first.
    • Townwood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Gilboa
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Belmore
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Belmore is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
    • Pandora
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Pandora is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pandora
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,101 people
    • Leipsic Junction
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Leipsic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • West Leipsic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Ottawa
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Glandorf
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Columbus Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Miller City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Kalida
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Jones City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jones City is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones City
  • Sandusky County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Findlay, with the one closest to Findlay listed first.
    • Burgoon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Burgoon is located in Sandusky County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burgoon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
    • Helena
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Gibsonburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Gabels Corner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Seneca County
  • Wood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Findlay, with the one closest to Findlay listed first.
    • Bairdstown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • North Baltimore
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Bloomdale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Eagleville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hammansburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Hoytville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Cygnet
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Jerry City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jerry City is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerry City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 437 people
    • West Millgrove
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • West Millgrove is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Millgrove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
    • Six Points
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Portage
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Portage is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 490 people
    • Risingsun
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Custar
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Wyandot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Findlay, with the one closest to Findlay listed first.
    • Carey
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Wharton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Wharton is located in Wyandot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wharton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
    • Kirby
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Belle Vernon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Mexico
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Upper Sandusky
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Sycamore
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Sycamore is located in Wyandot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 811 people
    • Marseilles
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Marseilles is located in Wyandot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marseilles
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
    • Duenquat
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Harpster
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Findlay ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Findlay.

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

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

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

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Findlay had a population of 18,558 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Findlay had a population of 40,832 people.

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

  • Chase
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Chase is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chase
  • Mortimer
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Mortimer is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mortimer
  • Wineland ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Wineland is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wineland
  • Van Buren
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Portage Center
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Portage Center is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage Center
  • Benton Ridge
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Benton Ridge is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton Ridge
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 289 people
  • Houcktown
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Houcktown is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houcktown
  • Arcadia
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • McComb
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Rawson
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Bairdstown
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Galatea
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Galatea is located in Wood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galatea
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Findlay ...

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 133 newspapers that have been published in the area around Findlay.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Findlay. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Findlay and those printed in the larger area surrounding Findlay.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4> of Findlay.

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 Findlay:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<3>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Findlay, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Findlay) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.