Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Risley. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Risley to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Risley, please Contact Us.
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 Risley (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 Risley. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Risley is historic, it would have been located within present day Medina 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 Medina County: Ashland, Cuyahoga, Lorain, Summit & Wayne.
Below are the counties that are near Risley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Risley:
- Medina County (The home county of Risley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Risley, with the one closest to Risley listed first.
- Litchfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- River Corners
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- River Corners is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Corners
- Spencer
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pawnee
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Pawnee is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee
- Lodi
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Homer
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Homer is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
- Briarwood Beach ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Briarwood Beach is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarwood Beach
- Chippewa Lake
(8 miles [12.9 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 <2>
- Friendsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Friendsville is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendsville
- Medina
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Abbeyville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Abbeyville is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbeyville
- Valley City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Gloria Glens Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Gloria Glens Park is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gloria Glens Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 449 people
- Ashland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Risley, with the one closest to Risley listed first.
- Albion
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Albion is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Nova
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Polk
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Polk is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk
- Population from the 2020 Census: 331 people
- Redhaw
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Redhaw is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redhaw
- Ruggles
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Ruggles is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruggles
- Rowsburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Rowsburg is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowsburg
- Bailey Lakes
(20 miles [32.2 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
- Savannah
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ashland
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Jeromesville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Hayesville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- 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
(13 miles [20.9 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 Risley, with the one closest to Risley listed first.
- Bennetts Corners
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bennetts Corners is located in Cuyahoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennetts Corners
- Strongsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Binola
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Binola is located in Cuyahoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binola
- Olmsted Falls
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Berea
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- North Royalton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- North Olmsted
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Middleburg Heights
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Brook Park
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Parma Heights
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Westlake
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Broadview Heights
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Fairview Park
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Erie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Risley, with the one closest to Risley listed first.
- Birmingham
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Florence
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Florence is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Berlin Heights
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Berlinville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Berlinville is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlinville
- Shinrock
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Shinrock is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shinrock
- Milan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Huron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Risley, with the one closest to Risley listed first.
- White Fox
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- White Fox is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Fox
- New London
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Wakeman
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- West Clarksfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- West Clarksfield is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Clarksfield
- Fitchville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Fitchville is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitchville
- Hartland Station
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hartland Station is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland Station
- Hartland
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hartland is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Collins
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Collins is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- East Townsend
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- East Townsend is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Townsend
- Greenwich
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Olena
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Olena is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olena
- North Fairfield
(29 miles [46.7 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
- Delphi
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Delphi is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delphi
- Lorain County
- The following are listed by their distance from Risley, with the one closest to Risley listed first.
- Belden
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Belden is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belden
- Pheasant Run Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pheasant Run Village is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pheasant Run Village
- Lagrange
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Grafton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Huntington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Huntington is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
- Wellington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Nickelplate ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Nickelplate is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickelplate
- Eaton Estates
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Eaton Estates is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eaton Estates
- Brighton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Brighton is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Rochester
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Rochester is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
- Oberlin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Elyria
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Fields
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Fields is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fields
- Richland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Risley, with the one closest to Risley listed first.
- Olivesburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Olivesburg is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivesburg
- Shenandoah
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Shenandoah is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shenandoah
- Stark County
- The following are listed by their distance from Risley, with the one closest to Risley listed first.
- Canal Fulton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- North Lawrence
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Summit County
- The following are listed by their distance from Risley, with the one closest to Risley listed first.
- Paxton
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Paxton is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
- Pigeon Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Pigeon Creek is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon Creek
- Copley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Bath Center
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Bath Center is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath Center
- Bath
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Montrose
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Montrose is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Fairlawn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Norton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Richfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Barberton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Clinton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Boston
(26 miles [41.8 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
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Wayne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Risley, with the one closest to Risley listed first.
- Burbank
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- West Salem
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Aukerman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Aukerman is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aukerman
- Creston
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Congress
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Congress is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congress
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- Sterling
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rittman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lattasburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Lattasburg is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lattasburg
- Devil Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Devil Town is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devil Town
- New Pittsburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- New Pittsburg is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Pittsburg
- Doylestown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Smithville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Boys Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Boys Village is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boys Village
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Risley, see our County-by-County Page for Risley.
Cemeteries Near Risley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Risley.
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 Risley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Risley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Risley, with the one closest to Risley listed first.
- Litchfield Center Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Black River Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Chatham Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Spencer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Waltz Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Penfield Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pawnee Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Zion Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion Lutheran Cemetery
- The Zion Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- Homer Lutheran Cemetery
- New Horizons Church Cemetery
- Homer Reformed Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer Reformed Church Cemetery
- The Homer Reformed Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- East Homerville Reformed Cemetery
- East Homerville Reformed Church Cemetery
- Lafayette Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Branch Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- York Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (488 more) ...
- Greenhoe Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Vanderhoef Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Voorhees Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
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.
While we didn't find Risley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Risley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Risley, with the one closest to Risley listed first.
- Litchfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Spencer
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Penfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Penfield is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penfield
- Pawnee
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Pawnee is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee
- Erhart
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Erhart is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erhart
- Mallet Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mallet Creek is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallet Creek
- Homer
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Homer is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
- Lodi
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Belden
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Belden is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belden
- Homerville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Homerville is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homerville
- Friendsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Friendsville is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendsville
- Chippewa Lake
(8 miles [12.9 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 <2>
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Chamberlain ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Chamberlain is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamberlain
- Lagrange
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Huntington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Huntington is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Risley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Risley.
Newspapers Published in Risley ...
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 101 newspapers that have been published in the area around Risley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Risley, 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 Risley.
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 Risley:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Medina County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Ashland County
- Champaign County
- Cuyahoga County
- Erie County
- Huron County
- Lorain County
- Richland County
- Stark County
- Summit County
- Wayne County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Ohio
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Risley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 from Point A (ie- Risley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |