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 Sun Valley (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 Sun Valley. 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 Sun Valley ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Sun Valley: Sun Vly. (or less commonly used: Sun Vally. or Sun Vlly.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sun Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sun Valley.
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 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.
Sun Valley is located in Clark 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 Clark County: Champaign, Greene, Madison, Miami & Montgomery.
Below are the counties that are near Sun Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sun Valley:
- Clark County (The home county of Sun Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sun Valley, with the one closest to Sun Valley listed first.
- Kenwood Heights
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Kenwood Heights is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenwood Heights
- Springfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Villa
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Villa is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa
- Greenlawn Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Greenlawn Village is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlawn Village
- Green Hedges
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Green Hedges is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hedges
- Shawnee Acres
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Shawnee Acres is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawnee Acres
- Oakwood Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Oakwood Village is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Village
- Northridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Northridge is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northridge
- Eagle City
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Eagle City is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle City
- New Moorefield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- New Moorefield is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Moorefield
- Limestone City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Limestone City is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone City
- Owl Town ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Owl Town is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owl Town
- Lisbon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lisbon is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
- Champaign County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sun Valley, with the one closest to Sun Valley listed first.
- Powhattan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Powhattan is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhattan
- Urbana
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Mutual
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mutual is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mutual
- Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
- Westville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Westville is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville
- Mechanicsburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Kingscreek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Kingscreek is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingscreek
- Christiansburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Paris
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Millerstown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Millerstown is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerstown
- Mingo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Woodstock
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Woodstock is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
- North Lewisburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Carysville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Carysville is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carysville
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sun Valley, with the one closest to Sun Valley listed first.
- Port William
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Port William is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port William
- Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
- New Burlington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- New Burlington is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Burlington
- North Kingman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- North Kingman is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Kingman
- Sabina
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Clinton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Clinton is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sun Valley, with the one closest to Sun Valley listed first.
- Jeffersonville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Octa
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Octa is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Octa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 59 people
- Milledgeville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Milledgeville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milledgeville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 108 people
- Yatesville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Yatesville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yatesville
- Hagler
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hagler is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagler
- Bloomingburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cook
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cook is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook
- Cook has also been known as:
- Cook Station
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sun Valley, with the one closest to Sun Valley listed first.
- Darby Park ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Darby Park is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darby Park
- Lake Darby
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Lake Darby is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Darby
- Darbydale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Darbydale is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darbydale
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sun Valley, with the one closest to Sun Valley listed first.
- Clifton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Yellow Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cedarville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Grape Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Grape Grove is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grape Grove
- Wilberforce
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fairborn
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Jamestown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- New Jasper
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- New Jasper is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Jasper
- Shawnee Hills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Shawnee Hills is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawnee Hills
- Pinewood Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pinewood Village is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood Village
- Xenia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Trebein
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Trebein is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trebein
- Trebein has also been known as:
- Beaver Station
- Beaver
- Frost Station
- Pickeneyville
- Pinckneyvile
- Beavercreek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Logan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sun Valley, with the one closest to Sun Valley listed first.
- West Liberty
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- De Graff
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Middleburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Quincy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Valley Hi
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Valley Hi is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Hi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
- Iron City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Iron City is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Zanesfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sun Valley, with the one closest to Sun Valley listed first.
- Summerford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Summerford is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerford
- South Solon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- South Solon is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Solon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 362 people
- Choctaw Lake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Choctaw Lake is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choctaw Lake
- Deer Creek Village ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Deer Creek Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Creek Village
- London
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Plumwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Plumwood is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumwood
- Midway
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Chrisman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Chrisman is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chrisman
- Range
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Range is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Range
- Gillivan
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Gillivan is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillivan
- Chuckery
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Chuckery is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chuckery
- Jefferson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Jefferson is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- West Jefferson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- West Jefferson is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,482 people
- Miami County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sun Valley, with the one closest to Sun Valley listed first.
- Alcony
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Alcony is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcony
- Casstown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Conover
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Conover is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conover
- Lena
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lena is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lena
- Tipp City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Ginghamsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Ginghamsburg is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ginghamsburg
- Fletcher
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Fletcher is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
- Population from the 2020 Census: 486 people
- Troy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Kessler
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Kessler is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kessler
- Piqua
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- West Milton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sun Valley, with the one closest to Sun Valley listed first.
- Huber Heights
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Sulphur Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Sulphur Grove is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Grove
- Riverside
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hooks Corner
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Hooks Corner is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooks Corner
- Tadmor ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Tadmor is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tadmor
- Vandalia
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Riverdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Riverdale is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverdale
- Northridge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Northridge is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northridge
- Dayton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Oakwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Oakwood is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,919 people
- Shiloh
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Shiloh is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Kettering
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Deerpark Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Deerpark Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerpark Village
- Shelby County
- Riverside
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sun Valley, with the one closest to Sun Valley listed first.
- Milford Center
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Unionville Center
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Unionville Center is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
- Marysville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sun Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Sun Valley.
Cemeteries Near Sun Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sun Valley.
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 Sun Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sun Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sun Valley, with the one closest to Sun Valley listed first.
- Calvary Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- St. Raphaels Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Greenmount Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Yale Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Tuttle Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- New Comer Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Old Columbia Street Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Garlough Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Fletcher Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Graybill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Childrens Home Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (520 more) ...
- St. Bernard Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Bernard Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Bernard Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Springfield.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #43077 <2>
- Ferncliff Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Emery Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.<3>
While we didn't find Sun Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sun Valley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sun Valley, with the one closest to Sun Valley listed first.
- Lagonda
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Lagonda is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lagonda
- Springfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Thorps
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Thorps is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorps
- Oxtoby ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Oxtoby is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxtoby
- Villa
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Villa is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa
- Beatty
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Beatty is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beatty
- Pitchin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Pitchin is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pitchin
- Eagle City
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Eagle City is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle City
- New Moorefield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- New Moorefield is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Moorefield
- Durbin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Durbin is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durbin
- Hustead
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hustead is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustead
- Hennessey ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hennessey is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hennessey
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Bowlusville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Bowlusville is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlusville
- Clifton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- South Charleston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sun Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sun Valley.
Newspapers Published in Sun Valley ...
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 89 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sun Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sun Valley, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sun Valley.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Sun Valley:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Clark County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Champaign County
- Clinton County
- Fayette County
- Franklin County
- Greene County
- Logan County
- Madison County
- Miami County
- Montgomery County
- Shelby County
- Union 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 Sun Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sun Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |