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 Penfield (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 Penfield. 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.
Penfield is located in Lorain 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 Lorain County: Ashland, Cuyahoga, Erie, Huron & Medina.
Below are the counties that are near Penfield. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Penfield:
- Lorain County (The home county of Penfield)
- The following are listed by their distance from Penfield, with the one closest to Penfield listed first.
- Pheasant Run Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pheasant Run Village is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pheasant Run Village
- Lagrange
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Wellington
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Nickelplate ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Nickelplate is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickelplate
- Belden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Belden is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belden
- Huntington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Huntington is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
- Grafton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Oberlin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Brighton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Brighton is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Rochester
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Rochester is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
- Eaton Estates
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Eaton Estates is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eaton Estates
- Kipton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kipton is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kipton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
- Elyria
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Ashland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penfield, with the one closest to Penfield listed first.
- Albion
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Albion is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Nova
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Polk
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Polk is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk
- Population from the 2020 Census: 331 people
- Ruggles
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ruggles is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruggles
- Redhaw
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Redhaw is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redhaw
- Savannah
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Bailey Lakes
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Bailey Lakes is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
- Rowsburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Rowsburg is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowsburg
- Ashland
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Jeromesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Hayesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Hayesville is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 459 people
- Mifflin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mifflin is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mifflin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Champaign County
- Rochester
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Rochester is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
- Cuyahoga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penfield, with the one closest to Penfield listed first.
- Olmsted Falls
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Strongsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bennetts Corners
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Bennetts Corners is located in Cuyahoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennetts Corners
- Binola
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Binola is located in Cuyahoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binola
- Berea
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- North Olmsted
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Middleburg Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- North Royalton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Brook Park
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Westlake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fairview Park
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- North Dover
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- North Dover is located in Cuyahoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dover
- Parma Heights
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Erie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penfield, with the one closest to Penfield listed first.
- Birmingham
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Florence
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Florence is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Berlin Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Berlinville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Berlinville is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlinville
- Shinrock
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Shinrock is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shinrock
- Milan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- North Milan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- North Milan is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Milan
- Huron
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Avery
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Avery is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
- Huron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penfield, with the one closest to Penfield listed first.
- White Fox
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- White Fox is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Fox
- Wakeman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- West Clarksfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- West Clarksfield is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Clarksfield
- New London
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fitchville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Fitchville is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitchville
- Hartland Station
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Hartland Station is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland Station
- Hartland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Hartland is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Collins
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Collins is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- East Townsend
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- East Townsend is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Townsend
- Olena
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Olena is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olena
- Greenwich
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- North Fairfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- North Fairfield is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Fairfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 531 people
- Norwalk
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Medina County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penfield, with the one closest to Penfield listed first.
- River Corners
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- River Corners is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Corners
- Spencer
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Risley ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Risley is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Risley
- Litchfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Pawnee
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Pawnee is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee
- Homer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Homer is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
- Valley City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lodi
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Abbeyville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Abbeyville is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbeyville
- Valley City Station
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Valley City Station is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley City Station
- Friendsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Friendsville is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendsville
- Briarwood Beach ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Briarwood Beach is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarwood Beach
- Chippewa Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Chippewa Lake is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chippewa Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 749 people
- Former name for Chippewa Lake:
- Chippewa-on-the-Lake
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chippewa Lake <1>
- Richland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penfield, with the one closest to Penfield listed first.
- Olivesburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Olivesburg is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivesburg
- Shenandoah
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Shenandoah is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shenandoah
- Shiloh
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ganges
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ganges is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ganges
- Plymouth
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Plymouth is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,789 people
- Summit County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penfield, with the one closest to Penfield listed first.
- Paxton
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Paxton is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
- Pigeon Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Pigeon Creek is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon Creek
- Bath Center
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Bath Center is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath Center
- Bath
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Copley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Montrose
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Montrose is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Richfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Fairlawn
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Norton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Barberton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Boston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Boston is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boston
- Boston has also been known as:
- Boston Mill
- Helltown
- Peninsula
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Clinton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Wayne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penfield, with the one closest to Penfield listed first.
- West Salem
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Burbank
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Aukerman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Aukerman is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aukerman
- Congress
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Congress is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congress
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- Creston
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sterling
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lattasburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Lattasburg is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lattasburg
- New Pittsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- New Pittsburg is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Pittsburg
- Rittman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Devil Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Devil Town is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devil Town
- Jefferson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Jefferson is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Boys Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Boys Village is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boys Village
- Smithville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Penfield, see our County-by-County Page for Penfield.
Cemeteries Near Penfield ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Penfield.
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 Penfield - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Penfield covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Penfield, with the one closest to Penfield listed first.
- Penfield Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Jackson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Spencer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Knowles Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- LaGrange Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaGrange Cemetery
- The LaGrange Cemetery has also been known as:
- La Grange Cemetery
- Lagrange Community Cemetery
- Lagrange Twp. Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1564912 <2>
- Greenwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Litchfield Center Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Aldrich Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Pioneer Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Huntington Center Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rockwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Black River Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (459 more) ...
- East Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- South Pittsfield Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Old Brighton Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Penfield had a population of 114 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Penfield, with the one closest to Penfield listed first.
- Spencer
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Lagrange
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Litchfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Wellington
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Huntington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Huntington is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
- Nickelplate ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Nickelplate is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickelplate
- Belden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Belden is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belden
- Pittsfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pittsfield is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsfield
- Pawnee
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Pawnee is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee
- Erhart
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Erhart is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erhart
- Grafton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Homer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Homer is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Homerville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Homerville is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homerville
- Oberlin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Brighton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Brighton is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Penfield. See our List of 1890's Communities around Penfield.
Newspapers Published in Penfield ...
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 108 newspapers that have been published in the area around Penfield.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Penfield, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Penfield.
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 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 Penfield:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Lorain County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Ashland County
- Champaign County
- Cuyahoga County
- Erie County
- Huron County
- Medina County
- Richland County
- Summit County
- Wayne 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 Penfield, 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- Penfield) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |