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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 Sinking Spring (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 Sinking Spring. 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 Sinking Spring ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Sinking Spring: Sinking Spg. (or less commonly used: Sinking Spng. or Sinking Sprng.)

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.

Sinking Spring is located in Highland County.

To see how the shape of Ohio's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Highland County: Adams, Brown, Clinton, Fayette, Pike & Ross.

Below are the counties that are near Sinking Spring. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sinking Spring:

  • Highland County     (The home county of Sinking Spring)
  • Adams County
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sinking Spring, with the one closest to Sinking Spring listed first.
    • Fincastle
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Macon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Ash Ridge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Sardinia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Decatur
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Arnheim
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Russellville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Russellville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
      • Russellville is located in Brown County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 510 people
    • Neel
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Neel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neel
      • Neel is located in Brown County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Neel
      • From Sinking Spring to Neel
    • Bardwell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Mount Orab
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Orab have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Orab
      • Mount Orab is located in Brown County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,422 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Orab <2>
    • Saint Martin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Martin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Martin
      • Saint Martin is located in Brown County
      • Estimated population in 2011: 128 people
    • Fivemile
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • New Hope
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sinking Spring, with the one closest to Sinking Spring listed first.
    • New Vienna
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Memphis
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Memphis. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memphis
      • Memphis is located in Clinton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Memphis
      • From Sinking Spring to Memphis
    • Lees Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Martinsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martinsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsville
      • Martinsville is located in Clinton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 439 people
    • Morrisville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Lawrence County
  • Pike County
  • Ross County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sinking Spring, with the one closest to Sinking Spring listed first.
    • Bainbridge
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bainbridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainbridge
      • Bainbridge is located in Ross County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 846 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bainbridge <2>
    • Humboldt
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Humboldt. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humboldt
      • Humboldt is located in Ross County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Humboldt
      • From Sinking Spring to Humboldt
    • Dills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dills. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dills
      • Dills is located in Ross County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dills
      • From Sinking Spring to Dills
    • Fruitdale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Nipgen
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nipgen. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nipgen
      • Nipgen is located in Ross County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Nipgen
      • From Sinking Spring to Nipgen
    • Summithill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • South Salem
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Salem have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Salem
      • South Salem is located in Ross County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 198 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for South Salem <2>
    • Bourneville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Knockemstiff ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Lattaville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Alma
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Musselman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Roxabell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Scioto County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sinking Spring, with the one closest to Sinking Spring listed first.
    • Rarden
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rarden have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rarden
      • Rarden is located in Scioto County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rarden <2>
    • Youngs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Otway
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bear Creek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Arion
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Lombardsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Lucasville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lucasville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucasville
      • Lucasville is located in Scioto County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lucasville <2>
    • Rosemount
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosemount have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemount
      • Rosemount is located in Scioto County
    • West Portsmouth
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Portsmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Portsmouth
      • West Portsmouth is located in Scioto County
    • Friendship
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Shannoah Town ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shannoah Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannoah Town
      • Shannoah Town is located in Scioto County
  • Summit County
  • Lewis County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sinking Spring, with the one closest to Sinking Spring listed first.
    • Concord
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Concord have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
      • Concord is located in Lewis County (KY)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31 people
    • Pence
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pence have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pence
      • Pence is located in Lewis County (KY)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sinking Spring, see our County-by-County Page for Sinking Spring.

Cemeteries Near Sinking Spring ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sinking Spring.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sinking Spring covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sinking Spring, with the one closest to Sinking Spring listed first.

  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Byrd Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Byrd Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Byrd Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Strait Creek Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Strait Creek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Strait Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Suiter - Williams Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Suiter - Williams Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Suiter - Williams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Westwood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Westwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Westwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Dutch Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Davidson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Davidson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Davidson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Olive Branch Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Olive Branch Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Olive Branch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cedar Chapel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar Chapel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cedar Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Louden Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Loudon Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Loudon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Loudon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Washburn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Washburn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Washburn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (628 more) ...
    • New Fain Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Fain Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Fain Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Countryman Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Countryman Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Countryman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Dunkard Ridge Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dunkard Ridge Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dunkard Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Sinking Spring had a population of 192 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Sinking Spring had a population of 131 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Sinking Spring, with the one closest to Sinking Spring listed first.

  • Elmville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elmville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmville
    • Elmville is located in Highland County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Elmville
    • From Sinking Spring to Elmville
  • Poplar Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Byington
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Byington have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byington
    • Byington is located in Pike County
  • Newfain
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Newfain. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newfain
    • Newfain is located in Pike County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Newfain
    • From Sinking Spring to Newfain
  • Turkey
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Turkey. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey
    • Turkey is located in Highland County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Turkey
    • From Sinking Spring to Turkey
  • Locust Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • North Uniontown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Carmel
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carmel have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmel
    • Carmel is located in Highland County
  • May Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for May Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May Hill
    • May Hill is located in Adams County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to May Hill
    • From Sinking Spring to May Hill
  • Latham
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Cynthiana
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Marshall
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Barretts Mills
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Peebles
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Arkoe
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arkoe have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkoe
      • Arkoe is located in Pike County

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sinking Spring. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sinking Spring.

Newspapers Published in Sinking Spring ...

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 60 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sinking Spring.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sinking Spring, 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 Sinking Spring.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Sinking Spring:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Sinking Spring. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Highland County: www.highland-co.com/

The official website for State of Ohio: https://ohio.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<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 from Point A (ie- Sinking Spring) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sinking Spring. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.0745, Longitude: -83.3867    
<5>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.
<6>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 Sinking Spring, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 30 Mar 2025