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 Mad River (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 Mad River. 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 Mad River ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Mad River: Mad Riv.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Mad River. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Mad River.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.
Mad River is located in Clark 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 Clark County: Champaign, Greene, Madison, Miami & Montgomery.
Below are the counties that are near Mad River. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Mad River:
- Clark County (The home county of Mad River)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mad River, with the one closest to Mad River listed first.
- Donnelsville
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Donnelsville is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnelsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Limestone City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Limestone City is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone City
- Enon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Green Meadows
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Green Meadows is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Meadows
- Holiday Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Holiday Valley is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Valley
- Green Hedges
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Green Hedges is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hedges
- Crystal Lakes
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Crystal Lakes is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lakes
- Shawnee Acres
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Shawnee Acres is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawnee Acres
- Springfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Lawrenceville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lawrenceville is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceville
- North Hampton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- North Hampton is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hampton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- New Carlisle
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Park Layne
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Park Layne is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Layne
- Champaign County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mad River, with the one closest to Mad River listed first.
- Christiansburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Westville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Westville is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville
- Saint Paris
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Powhattan
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Powhattan is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhattan
- Urbana
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Millerstown
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Millerstown is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerstown
- Mutual
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Mutual is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mutual
- Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
- Kingscreek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kingscreek is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingscreek
- Carysville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Carysville is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carysville
- Mechanicsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mingo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Woodstock
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Woodstock is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
- North Lewisburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mad River, with the one closest to Mad River listed first.
- New Burlington
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- New Burlington is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Burlington
- Port William
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Port William is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port William
- Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
- North Kingman
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- North Kingman is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Kingman
- Darke County
- Pitsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mad River, with the one closest to Mad River listed first.
- Jeffersonville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Octa
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Octa is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Octa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 59 people
- Milledgeville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Milledgeville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milledgeville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 108 people
- Yatesville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Yatesville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yatesville
- Hagler
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hagler is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagler
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mad River, with the one closest to Mad River listed first.
- Yellow Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Fairborn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Clifton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Wilberforce
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Cedarville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pinewood Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Pinewood Village is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood Village
- Trebein
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Trebein is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trebein
- Trebein has also been known as:
- Beaver Station
- Beaver
- Frost Station
- Pickeneyville
- Pinckneyvile
- Xenia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Beavercreek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- New Jasper
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- New Jasper is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Jasper
- Grape Grove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Grape Grove is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grape Grove
- Jamestown
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Shawnee Hills
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Shawnee Hills is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawnee Hills
- Logan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mad River, with the one closest to Mad River listed first.
- West Liberty
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Quincy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- De Graff
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mad River, with the one closest to Mad River listed first.
- South Solon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- South Solon is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Solon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 362 people
- Choctaw Lake
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Choctaw Lake is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choctaw Lake
- Summerford
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Summerford is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerford
- Deer Creek Village ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Deer Creek Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Creek Village
- London
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Midway
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Plumwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Plumwood is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumwood
- Range
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Range is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Range
- Chrisman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Chrisman is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chrisman
- Miami County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mad River, with the one closest to Mad River listed first.
- Alcony
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Alcony is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcony
- Ginghamsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Ginghamsburg is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ginghamsburg
- Tipp City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Casstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Conover
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Conover is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conover
- Lena
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Lena is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lena
- Troy
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Fletcher
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Fletcher is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
- Population from the 2020 Census: 486 people
- Kessler
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Kessler is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kessler
- West Milton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Garland
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Garland is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
- Ludlow Falls
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Ludlow Falls is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow Falls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Piqua
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mad River, with the one closest to Mad River listed first.
- Sulphur Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Sulphur Grove is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Grove
- Huber Heights
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Hooks Corner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hooks Corner is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooks Corner
- Tadmor ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Tadmor is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tadmor
- Riverside
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Vandalia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Northridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Northridge is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northridge
- Dayton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Riverdale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Riverdale is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverdale
- Shiloh
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Shiloh is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Oakwood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Oakwood is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,919 people
- Deerpark Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Deerpark Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerpark Village
- Fort McKinley
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Fort McKinley is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort McKinley
- Preble County
- Verona
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mad River, with the one closest to Mad River listed first.
- Riverside
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Lockington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lockington is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
- Pasco
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Pasco is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pasco
- Sidney
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mad River, with the one closest to Mad River listed first.
- Corwin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Waynesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Five Points
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Five Points is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Harveysburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Harveysburg is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveysburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
- Kenricksville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Kenricksville is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenricksville
- Springboro
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Franklin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Williams County
- Franklin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Franklin is located in Williams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Mad River, see our County-by-County Page for Mad River.
Cemeteries Near Mad River ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mad River.
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 Mad River - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Mad River covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Mad River, with the one closest to Mad River listed first.
- Enon Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Tecumseh Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Bethel Baptist Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Donnelsville Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Old Donnelsville Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Glen Haven Memorial Gardens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Clark County Home Infirmary Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Mud Run Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Masonic Home Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ohio Masonic Home Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Vale Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Miller Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miller Cemetery
- The Miller Cemetery has also been known as:
- Miller Family Cemetery
- Smith Cemetery
- Continue List (531 more) ...
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Emery Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Callison Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
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 in 1895, Mad River had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Mad River, with the one closest to Mad River listed first.
- Donnelsville
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Donnelsville is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnelsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Enon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Durbin
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Durbin is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durbin
- Forgy
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Forgy is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forgy
- Medway
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Beatty
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Beatty is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beatty
- Hennessey ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Hennessey is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hennessey
- Hustead
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Hustead is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustead
- Yellow Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Springfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Lawrenceville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lawrenceville is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceville
- New Carlisle
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- North Hampton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- North Hampton is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hampton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- Dodo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dodo is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodo
- Eagle City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Eagle City is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle City
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Mad River. See our List of 1890's Communities around Mad River.
Newspapers Published in Mad River ...
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 157 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mad River.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mad River, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mad River.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Mad River:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Clark County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Champaign County
- Clinton County
- Darke County
- Fayette County
- Greene County
- Logan County
- Madison County
- Miami County
- Montgomery County
- Preble County
- Shelby County
- Warren County
- Williams 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> | 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 Mad River, 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' (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- Mad River) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |