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 Otsego (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 Otsego. 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 southwest 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 south.
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 south 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.
Otsego is located in Wood 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 Wood County: Hancock, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, Putnam, Sandusky & Seneca.
Below are the counties that are near Otsego. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Otsego:
- Wood County (The home county of Otsego)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Tontogany
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Haskins
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Grand Rapids
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Weston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- The Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- The Village is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Village
- Bowling Green
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Dowling
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Dowling is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowling
- Milton Center
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Milton Center is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
- Portage
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Portage is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage
- Population from the 2020 Census: 490 people
- Perrysburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Custar
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Lime City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lime City is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime City
- Bates
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bates is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bates
- Defiance County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Jewell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Jewell is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
- Ayersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ayersville is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayersville
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Swanton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ai
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ai is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ai
- Delta
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Plattston ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Plattston is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattston
- West Delta
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- West Delta is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Delta
- Assumption
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Assumption is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assumption
- Lytton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lytton is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lytton
- Leslie ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Leslie is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leslie
- Siney ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Siney is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siney
- Metamora
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Whiteville ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Whiteville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteville
- Wauseon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Advance
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Advance is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advance
- Hancock County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Hancock
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Hancock is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
- Van Buren
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- McComb
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Wineland ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wineland is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wineland
- Lewisburg ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Lewisburg is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
- Arcadia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Findlay
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Moffitt ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Moffitt is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt
- Benton Ridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Benton Ridge is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 289 people
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- McClure
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Colton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Colton is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colton
- Liberty Center
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Grelton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Grelton is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grelton
- Malinta
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Deshler
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Elery
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Elery is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elery
- Napoleon
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Hamler
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Holgate
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Florida
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Florida is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florida
- Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
- Okolona
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Okolona is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okolona
- Okolona has also been known as:
- Okalona
- Ridgeville Corners
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Ridgeville Corners is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville Corners
- Lucas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Tondagamies Village ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Tondagamies Village is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tondagamies Village
- Bailey ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Bailey is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- Bailey has also been known as:
- Bailey Station
- Waterville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Whitehouse
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Maumee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Holland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Sharples
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Sharples is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharples
- Air Line Junction
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Air Line Junction is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Air Line Junction
- Ottawa Hills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ottawa Hills is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottawa Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,534 people
- Berkey
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Berkey is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Centennial ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Centennial is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centennial
- Fort Industry ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Fort Industry is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Industry
- East Toledo
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- East Toledo is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Toledo
- Ottawa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Genoa
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Clay Center
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Clay Center is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Martin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Curtice
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Elmore
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Rocky Ridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Rocky Ridge is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 407 people
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Belmore
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Belmore is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Townwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Townwood is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townwood
- Leipsic Junction
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Leipsic Junction is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leipsic Junction
- Leipsic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- West Leipsic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- West Leipsic is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leipsic
- Population from the 2020 Census: 188 people
- Gilboa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Gilboa is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilboa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Miller City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sandusky County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Woodville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Gibsonburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Helena
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Lindsey
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Burgoon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Burgoon is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burgoon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
- Seneca County
- Fostoria
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lenawee County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Ogden Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Ogden Center is located in Lenawee County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden Center
- Riga
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Riga is located in Lenawee County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riga
- Blissfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Jasper
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jasper is located in Lenawee County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jasper
- Weston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Weston is located in Lenawee County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
- Palmyra
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Palmyra is located in Lenawee County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
- Morenci
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Deerfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Wellsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Wellsville is located in Lenawee County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellsville
- Sand Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sand Creek is located in Lenawee County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Creek
- Monroe County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Lambertville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Liberty Corners
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty Corners is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Corners
- Berringer Corners ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Berringer Corners is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berringer Corners
- Temperance
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Vienna Junction
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Vienna Junction is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna Junction
- Samaria
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Samaria is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samaria
- Erie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Havre
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Havre is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havre
- Vienna
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Vienna is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna
- Yargerville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Yargerville is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yargerville
- Petersburg Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Petersburg Junction is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg Junction
- Luna Pier
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Otsego, see our County-by-County Page for Otsego.
Cemeteries Near Otsego ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Otsego.
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 Otsego - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Otsego covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Otsego Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Washington Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Tontogany Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- St. Patrick Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dunlap Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Highland Memory Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Miltonville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wakeman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakeman Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Wakeman Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Waterville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #358946 <2>
- Howard Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Beaver Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mennonite Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Plain Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (330 more) ...
- Rupp Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Whitehouse Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
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 Otsego in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Otsego.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Otsego, with the one closest to Otsego listed first.
- Bailey ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Bailey is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- Bailey has also been known as:
- Bailey Station
- Neowash ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Neowash is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neowash
- Tontogany
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Haskins
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hull Prairie
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hull Prairie is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hull Prairie
- Waterville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Whitehouse
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Grand Rapids
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Neapolis
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Weston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Roachton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Roachton is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roachton
- Bowling Green
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Sugar Ridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Sugar Ridge is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Ridge
- Dunbridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Dunbridge is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunbridge
- Monclova
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Otsego. See our List of 1890's Communities around Otsego.
Newspapers Published in Otsego ...
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 96 newspapers that have been published in the area around Otsego.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Otsego, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Otsego.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Otsego:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Wood County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Defiance County
- Fulton County
- Hancock County
- Henry County
- Lucas County
- Ottawa County
- Putnam County
- Sandusky County
- Seneca County
- Lenawee County
- Monroe 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 Otsego, 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- Otsego) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |