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 Hector (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 Hector. 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 and doctors 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.
Hector 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 Hector. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hector:
- Putnam County (The home county of Hector)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hector, with the one closest to Hector listed first.
- Kieferville
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Kieferville is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kieferville
- Continental
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Miller City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Dupont
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hartsburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hartsburg is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsburg
- Cloverdale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cloverdale is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
- Kalida
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Glandorf
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Muntanna
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Muntanna is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muntanna
- West Leipsic
(11 miles [17.7 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
- Ottawa
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Leipsic Junction
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Leipsic Junction is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leipsic Junction
- Leipsic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Allen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hector, with the one closest to Hector listed first.
- Gomer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Delphos
(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 south)
- 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
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Landeck is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landeck
- Beaverdam
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bluffton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Southworth
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Southworth is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southworth
- Lima
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Conant
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Conant is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
- Lafayette
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Defiance County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hector, with the one closest to Hector listed first.
- Ayersville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Ayersville is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayersville
- Defiance
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Williamstown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- 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
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Brunersburg is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunersburg
- Sherwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ney
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hicksville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hector, with the one closest to Hector 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 Hector, with the one closest to Hector listed first.
- Hancock
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Hancock is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
- Moffitt ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Moffitt is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt
- McComb
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Benton Ridge
(23 miles [37 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
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Lewisburg is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
- Mount Cory
(23 miles [37 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
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cannonsburg ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cannonsburg is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannonsburg
- Jenera
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Findlay
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Van Buren
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hector, with the one closest to Hector listed first.
- Pleasant Bend
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Bend is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Bend
- New Bavaria
(7 miles [11.3 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
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hamler
(13 miles [20.9 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
- Elery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Elery is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elery
- 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
- Deshler
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Malinta
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Napoleon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Grelton
(20 miles [32.2 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
- McClure
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Paulding County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hector, with the one closest to Hector listed first.
- Oakwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Oakwood is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
- Mandale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mandale is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandale
- Murat ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 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
- Fort Brown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Fort Brown is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Brown
- Melrose
(9 miles [14.5 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
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Charloe is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charloe
- Saint Andrews ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Saint Andrews is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Andrews
- Junction
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Junction is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
- Grover Hill
(14 miles [22.5 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
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Hedges is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedges
- Broughton
(16 miles [25.7 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
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Renollet is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renollet
- Dague ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Dague is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dague
- Van Wert County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hector, with the one closest to Hector listed first.
- Hoaglin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hoaglin is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoaglin
- Middle Point
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Scott
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Van Wert
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Venedocia
(24 miles [38.6 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
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Converse is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse
- Converse Station
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Converse Station is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse Station
- Elgin
(27 miles [43.5 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
- Convoy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- 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
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Williams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hector, with the one closest to Hector listed first.
- Stryker
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Bryan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hector, with the one closest to Hector listed first.
- Hoytville
(23 miles [37 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
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Milton Center
(25 miles [40.2 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
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Weston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hammansburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Hammansburg is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammansburg
- North Baltimore
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Allen County (IN)
- Edgerton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Edgerton is located in Allen County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hector, see our County-by-County Page for Hector.
Cemeteries Near Hector ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hector.
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 Hector - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hector covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hector, with the one closest to Hector listed first.
- Wing Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Kieferville Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Monroe Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Varner Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- St. Isadores Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Dickey Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Varner Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fairview Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- New Bethany Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Franconia Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Myers Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myers Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Myers Cemetery is located 6 miles [9.7 km]<3> to the west of Ottawa.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #42348 <2>
- St. Nicholas Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (389 more) ...
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cascade Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- 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<3> to the east of Cloverdale.
- The Cascade Cemetery has also been known as:
- Myers Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2308500 <2>
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 Hector had a population of 215 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hector, with the one closest to Hector listed first.
- Wisterman
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Wisterman is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wisterman
- Kieferville
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Kieferville is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kieferville
- Continental
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- North Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- North Creek is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Creek
- Dupont
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Miller City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Rice
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rice is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice
- Pleasant Bend
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Bend is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Bend
- Hartsburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hartsburg is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsburg
- Cascade
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cascade is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
- Avis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Avis is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avis
- Huntstown ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Huntstown is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntstown
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Elm Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Elm Center is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Center
- New Bavaria
(7 miles [11.3 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
- Kalida
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hector. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hector.
Newspapers Published in Hector ...
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 116 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hector.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hector, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hector.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Hector:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Putnam County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allen County
- Defiance County
- Fulton County
- Hancock County
- Henry County
- Paulding County
- Van Wert County
- Williams County
- Wood County
- Allen 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> | 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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Hector) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Hector, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |