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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 Kelleys 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 Kelleys 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 Kelleys 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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Kelleys Island: Kelleys Is. (in Canada, 'Isld.' is the more common abbreviation.)
  • While the name of this village is Kelleys Island, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Kelleys Island may originally have been Kelley's Island.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Kelleys Island might be written as Kelley 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Kelleys Island is located in Erie 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 Erie County: Huron, Lorain, Ottawa & Sandusky.

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

  • Erie County     (The home county of Kelleys Island)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kelleys Island, with the one closest to Kelleys Island listed first.
    • Sandusky
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Venice
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Venice is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venice
    • Bay View
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairview Lanes
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Fairview Lanes is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Lanes
    • Bogart
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Bogart is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogart
    • Castalia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Huron
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Avery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Avery is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
    • North Milan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • North Milan is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Milan
    • Shinrock
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Shinrock is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shinrock
    • Milan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Berlin Heights
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Berlinville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Berlinville is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlinville
  • Huron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kelleys Island, with the one closest to Kelleys Island listed first.
    • Monroeville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Norwalk
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Hunts Corners
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Hunts Corners is located in Huron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunts Corners
      • Hunts Corners has also been known as:
      • Moorehead
    • Collins
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Collins is located in Huron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
    • East Townsend
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • East Townsend is located in Huron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Townsend
    • Wakeman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Hartland Station
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Hartland Station is located in Huron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland Station
    • Peru
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Peru is located in Huron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
  • Lorain County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kelleys Island, with the one closest to Kelleys Island listed first.
    • Vermilion
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Vermilion-on-the-Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Brownhelm Station
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Brownhelm Station is located in Lorain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownhelm Station
    • Henrietta
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Henrietta is located in Lorain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
    • Lorain
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Amherst
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • South Amherst
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • South Amherst is located in Lorain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Amherst
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,663 people
  • Lucas County
    • Bono
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Bono is located in Lucas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bono
  • Ottawa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kelleys Island, with the one closest to Kelleys Island listed first.
    • Marblehead
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Put-in-Bay
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Catawba Island
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Catawba Island is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catawba Island
    • Violet ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Violet is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Violet
    • Isle Saint George
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Isle Saint George is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isle Saint George
    • Danbury
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Danbury is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danbury
    • Gypsum
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Port Clinton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Lacarne
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Lacarne is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacarne
    • Locust Point
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Locust Point is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Point
    • Oak Harbor
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Rocky Ridge
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Rocky Ridge is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 407 people
  • Sandusky County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kelleys Island, with the one closest to Kelleys Island listed first.
    • Teemes ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Teemes is located in Sandusky County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teemes
    • Vickery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Vickery is located in Sandusky County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vickery
    • Erlin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Erlin is located in Sandusky County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erlin
    • Bellevue
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Shorewood Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Shorewood Village is located in Sandusky County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorewood Village
    • Clyde
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Clyde is located in Sandusky County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,172 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clyde <2>
    • Green Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Green Creek is located in Sandusky County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Creek
    • Kingsway
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Kingsway is located in Sandusky County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsway
    • Fremont
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Ballville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Ballville is located in Sandusky County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballville
    • Lindsey
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Stony Prairie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Stony Prairie is located in Sandusky County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Prairie
  • Seneca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kelleys Island, with the one closest to Kelleys Island listed first.
    • Flat Rock
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Flat Rock is located in Seneca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
    • Green Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Kelleys Island ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kelleys 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 Kelleys Island - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Village Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • St. Marys Byzantine Catholic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Clemmons Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Russian Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Sackett Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Woolcot Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Lockwood Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Pauls Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Confederate Stockade Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Middle Bass Island Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Crown Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (159 more) ...
    • Maple Leaf Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • K'burg Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Catawba Island Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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.<3>

While we didn't find Kelleys Island in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Kelleys Island.

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

  • Lakeside
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Marblehead
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Put-in-Bay
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Catawba Island
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Catawba Island is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catawba Island
  • Piccola ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Piccola is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piccola
  • Violet ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Violet is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Violet
  • Danbury
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Danbury is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danbury
  • Isle Saint George
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Isle Saint George is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isle Saint George
  • Sandusky
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Gypsum
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Venice
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Venice is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venice
  • Port Clinton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Bogart
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Bogart is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogart
    • Teemes ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Teemes is located in Sandusky County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teemes
    • Castalia
      (15 miles [24.1 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 Kelleys Island. See our List of 1890's Communities around Kelleys Island.

Newspapers Published in Kelleys 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 74 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kelleys Island.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Kelleys Island, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Kelleys Island.

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 Kelleys Island:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Kelleys Island, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Kelleys Island) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.