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 Semples (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 Semples. 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 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.
Semples 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 Semples. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Semples:
- Lorain County (The home county of Semples)
- The following are listed by their distance from Semples, with the one closest to Semples listed first.
- Rochester
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Rochester is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
- Huntington
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Huntington is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
- Brighton
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Brighton is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Wellington
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pheasant Run Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pheasant Run Village is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pheasant Run Village
- Kipton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Kipton is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kipton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
- Oberlin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Lagrange
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Nickelplate ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Nickelplate is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickelplate
- Henrietta
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Henrietta is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
- Belden
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Belden is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belden
- South Amherst
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- South Amherst is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Amherst
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,663 people
- Grafton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Ashland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Semples, with the one closest to Semples listed first.
- Nova
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Ruggles
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ruggles is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruggles
- Savannah
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Bailey Lakes
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Bailey Lakes is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
- Albion
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Albion is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Polk
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Polk is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk
- Population from the 2020 Census: 331 people
- Ashland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Redhaw
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Redhaw is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redhaw
- Rowsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rowsburg is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowsburg
- Jeromesville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Hayesville
(21 miles [33.8 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
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Mifflin is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mifflin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- McKay
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- McKay is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKay
- Champaign County
- Rochester
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Rochester is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Semples, with the one closest to Semples listed first.
- North Auburn
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- North Auburn is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Auburn
- Tiro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- New Washington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Crestline
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cuyahoga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Semples, with the one closest to Semples listed first.
- Olmsted Falls
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bennetts Corners
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bennetts Corners is located in Cuyahoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennetts Corners
- Binola
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Binola is located in Cuyahoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binola
- Strongsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Berea
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- North Olmsted
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Erie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Semples, with the one closest to Semples listed first.
- Birmingham
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Florence
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Florence is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Berlin Heights
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Berlinville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Berlinville is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlinville
- Milan
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Shinrock
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Shinrock is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shinrock
- North Milan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- North Milan is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Milan
- Avery
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Avery is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
- Huron
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bogart
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bogart is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogart
- Fairview Lanes
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fairview Lanes is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Lanes
- Huron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Semples, with the one closest to Semples listed first.
- New London
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- White Fox
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- White Fox is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Fox
- West Clarksfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- West Clarksfield is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Clarksfield
- Fitchville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Fitchville is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitchville
- Hartland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hartland is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Greenwich
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Hartland Station
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hartland Station is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland Station
- Wakeman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Olena
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Olena is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olena
- East Townsend
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- East Townsend is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Townsend
- Collins
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Collins is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Delphi
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Delphi is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delphi
- North Fairfield
(16 miles [25.7 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
- Medina County
- The following are listed by their distance from Semples, with the one closest to Semples listed first.
- Homer
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Homer is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
- Spencer
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- River Corners
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- River Corners is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Corners
- Pawnee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Pawnee is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee
- Risley ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Risley is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Risley
- Litchfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Lodi
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Friendsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Friendsville is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendsville
- Westfield Center
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Westfield Center is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,188 people
- Chippewa Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- 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>
- Briarwood Beach ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Briarwood Beach is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarwood Beach
- Gloria Glens Park
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Gloria Glens Park is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gloria Glens Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 449 people
- Valley City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Richland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Semples, with the one closest to Semples listed first.
- Olivesburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Olivesburg is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivesburg
- Shenandoah
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Shenandoah is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shenandoah
- Shiloh
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ganges
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Ganges is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ganges
- Plymouth
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Plymouth is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,789 people
- Forest ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Forest is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
- Shelby
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Mansfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Vernon Junction
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Vernon Junction is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon Junction
- Maybee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Maybee is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maybee
- Lucas
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Bethlehem
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bethlehem is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
- Ontario
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sandusky County
- Bellevue
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Seneca County
- The following are listed by their distance from Semples, with the one closest to Semples listed first.
- Attica Junction
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Attica Junction is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attica Junction
- Omar
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Omar is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omar
- Attica
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Caroline
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Caroline is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caroline
- Flat Rock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Flat Rock is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
- Wayne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Semples, with the one closest to Semples listed first.
- West Salem
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Aukerman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Aukerman is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aukerman
- Burbank
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Congress
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Congress is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congress
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- Lattasburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lattasburg is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lattasburg
- New Pittsburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- New Pittsburg is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Pittsburg
- Creston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Devil Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Devil Town is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devil Town
- Jefferson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Jefferson is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Sterling
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Funk
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Funk is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Funk
- Boys Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Boys Village is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boys Village
- Smithville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Semples, see our County-by-County Page for Semples.
Cemeteries Near Semples ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Semples.
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 Semples - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Semples covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Semples, with the one closest to Semples listed first.
- Rochester Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Beckley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Universalist Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Rochester Station Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Nova Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Close Street Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- East Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dry Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Day Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Huntington Center Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Old Brighton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Continue List (474 more) ...
- German Lutheran Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- West Main Street Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- New Brighton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
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, Semples had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Semples, with the one closest to Semples listed first.
- Rochester
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Rochester is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
- Nova
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Huntington
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Huntington is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
- Sullivan
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Brighton
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Brighton is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- New London
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Ruggles
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ruggles is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruggles
- White Fox
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- White Fox is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Fox
- Wellington
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Savannah
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Homer
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Homer is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
- Spencer
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Clarksfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Clarksfield is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksfield
- West Clarksfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- West Clarksfield is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Clarksfield
- Fitchville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Fitchville is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitchville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Semples. See our List of 1890's Communities around Semples.
Newspapers Published in Semples ...
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 59 newspapers that have been published in the area around Semples.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Semples, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Semples.
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 Semples:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Lorain County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Ashland County
- Champaign County
- Crawford County
- Cuyahoga County
- Erie County
- Huron County
- Medina County
- Richland County
- Sandusky County
- Seneca 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 Semples, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Semples) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |