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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 Southerton (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 Southerton. 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.

Southerton is located in Defiance 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 Defiance County: Allen (IN), DeKalb (IN), Henry, Paulding, Putnam & Williams.

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

  • Defiance County     (The home county of Southerton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Southerton, with the one closest to Southerton listed first.
    • Ayersville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Ayersville is located in Defiance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayersville
    • Defiance
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Williamstown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Williamstown is located in Defiance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
    • Brunersburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Brunersburg is located in Defiance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunersburg
    • Jewell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jewell is located in Defiance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
    • Sherwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Ney
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Ney is located in Defiance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ney
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 337 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ney <1>
    • Hicksville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Allen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Southerton, with the one closest to Southerton listed first.
    • Delphos
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Gomer
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Scotts Crossing
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Scotts Crossing is located in Allen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Crossing
    • Landeck
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Landeck is located in Allen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landeck
    • Cairo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Cairo is located in Allen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 520 people
    • West Cairo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • West Cairo is located in Allen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Cairo
    • Elida
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Elida is located in Allen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elida
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,810 people
    • Southworth
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Southworth is located in Allen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southworth
    • Beaverdam
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bluffton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Southerton, with the one closest to Southerton listed first.
    • Archbold
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Pettisville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Pettisville is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettisville
    • Eckley ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Eckley is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eckley
      • Eckley has also been known as:
      • Eckley Station
    • Wauseon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Burlington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Burlington is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
    • Plattston ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Plattston is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattston
  • Hancock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Southerton, with the one closest to Southerton listed first.
    • Hancock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Hancock is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
    • Moffitt ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Moffitt is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt
    • McComb
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Lewisburg ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Lewisburg is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
    • Benton Ridge
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Benton Ridge is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton Ridge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 289 people
    • Mount Cory
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Cory is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cory
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
  • Henry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Southerton, with the one closest to Southerton listed first.
    • Pleasant Bend
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Pleasant Bend is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Bend
    • New Bavaria
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • New Bavaria is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bavaria
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
    • Holgate
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Florida
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Florida is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florida
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
    • Okolona
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Okolona is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okolona
      • Okolona has also been known as:
      • Okalona
    • Hamler
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Elery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Elery is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elery
    • Malinta
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Napoleon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Ridgeville Corners
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Ridgeville Corners is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville Corners
    • Grelton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Grelton is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grelton
    • Deshler
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Paulding County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Southerton, with the one closest to Southerton listed first.
    • Oakwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Oakwood is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
    • Charloe
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Charloe is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charloe
    • Fort Brown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Fort Brown is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Brown
    • Junction
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Junction is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
    • Melrose
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Melrose is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 259 people
    • Saint Andrews ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Andrews is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Andrews
    • Murat ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Murat is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murat
      • Former names for Murat:
      • Hipp's Lock
      • Timberville
    • Renollet ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Renollet is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renollet
    • Mandale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Mandale is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandale
    • Hedges
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Hedges is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedges
    • Broughton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Broughton is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broughton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
    • Emmett
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Emmett is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmett
      • Emmett has also been known as:
      • Emerald Station
      • Emerald
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Southerton, with the one closest to Southerton listed first.
    • Hartsburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Hartsburg is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsburg
    • Continental
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Kieferville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Kieferville is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kieferville
    • Dupont
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Miller City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Cloverdale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Cloverdale is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
    • Muntanna
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Muntanna is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muntanna
    • Kalida
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Glandorf
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • West Leipsic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • West Leipsic is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leipsic
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 188 people
    • Leipsic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Ottawa
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Van Wert County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Southerton, with the one closest to Southerton listed first.
    • Hoaglin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Hoaglin is located in Van Wert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoaglin
    • Scott
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Middle Point
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Van Wert
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Convoy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Venedocia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Venedocia is located in Van Wert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venedocia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
    • Converse
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Converse is located in Van Wert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse
    • Dixon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Dixon is located in Van Wert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
  • Williams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Southerton, with the one closest to Southerton listed first.
    • Stryker
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Bryan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Bryan is located in Williams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,212 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bryan <1>
    • Pulaski
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Pulaski is located in Williams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
    • Melbern
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Melbern is located in Williams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbern
    • West Unity
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Edgerton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Denmark ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Denmark is located in Williams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
  • Wood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Southerton, with the one closest to Southerton listed first.
    • Custar
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Milton Center
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Milton Center is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Center
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
    • Hoytville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Hoytville is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoytville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 318 people
    • Grand Rapids
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Weston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Allen County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Southerton, with the one closest to Southerton listed first.
    • Edgerton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Edgerton is located in Allen County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
    • Woodburn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Dixon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Dixon is located in Allen County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon

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

Cemeteries Near Southerton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Southerton.

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 Southerton - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Mansfield Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Ice Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Myers Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Monroe Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Taylor Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Hoover Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Hoover Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<2> to the northwest of Oakwood.
    • The Hoover Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Thomas Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2319340 <3>
  • Foster Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Stephens Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Old St. Stephens Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Ayersville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayersville Cemetery
    • The Ayersville Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Pleasant Bend & Ayersville Cemetery
    • Pleasant Bend Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1687547 <3>
  • Continue List   (378 more) ...
    • Sherman Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Sherman Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<2> to the northwest of Oakwood.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #43405 <3>
    • Kingery Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Oakwood Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)

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.<4>

While we didn't find Southerton in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Southerton.

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

  • Rice
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Rice is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice
  • Arthur
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Arthur is located in Paulding County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
  • Ayersville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Ayersville is located in Defiance County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayersville
  • Wisterman
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Wisterman is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wisterman
  • North Creek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • North Creek is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Creek
  • Hartsburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Hartsburg is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsburg
  • Continental
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Pleasant Bend
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Pleasant Bend is located in Henry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Bend
  • Midway ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Midway is located in Defiance County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
  • Charloe
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Charloe is located in Paulding County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charloe
  • Defiance
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Hector
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Hector is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hector
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Kieferville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Kieferville is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kieferville
    • New Bavaria
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • New Bavaria is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bavaria
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
    • Junction
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Junction is located in Paulding County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction

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

Newspapers Published in Southerton ...

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 77 newspapers that have been published in the area around Southerton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Southerton, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Southerton.

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 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 Southerton:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Southerton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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>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 Southerton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.