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 Van Buren (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 Van Buren. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Van Buren is located in Hancock 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 Hancock County: Allen, Hardin, Henry, Putnam, Seneca, Wood & Wyandot.
Below are the counties that are near Van Buren. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Van Buren:
- Hancock County (The home county of Van Buren)
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Wineland ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wineland is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wineland
- Findlay
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Arcadia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- McComb
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Lewisburg ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lewisburg is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
- Hancock
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Hancock is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
- West Independence
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- West Independence is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Independence
- Benton Ridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Benton Ridge is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 289 people
- Moffitt ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Moffitt is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt
- Vanlue
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Vanlue is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanlue
- Population from the 2020 Census: 351 people
- Rawson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Arlington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Allen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Bluffton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Beaverdam
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lafayette
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- West Cairo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- West Cairo is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Cairo
- Hardin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Dola
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Dunkirk
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Forest
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Patterson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Patterson is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- McVitty
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- McVitty is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVitty
- Ada
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Grant
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Grant is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
- Huntersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Huntersville is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntersville
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Deshler
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Hamler
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Grelton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Grelton is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grelton
- McClure
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Malinta
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Elery
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Elery is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elery
- Holgate
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Colton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Colton is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colton
- New Bavaria
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- New Bavaria is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bavaria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Liberty Center
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Bend
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Bend is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Bend
- Napoleon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lucas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Bailey ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Bailey is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- Bailey has also been known as:
- Bailey Station
- Tondagamies Village ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Tondagamies Village is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tondagamies Village
- Waterville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Whitehouse
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Maumee
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Ottawa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Elmore
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Genoa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Townwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Townwood is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townwood
- Belmore
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Belmore is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Gilboa
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gilboa is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilboa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Leipsic Junction
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Leipsic Junction is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leipsic Junction
- Leipsic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- West Leipsic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- West Leipsic is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leipsic
- Population from the 2020 Census: 188 people
- Pandora
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Pandora is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pandora
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,101 people
- Ottawa
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Glandorf
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Miller City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Columbus Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Kieferville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Kieferville is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kieferville
- Sandusky County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Burgoon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Burgoon is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burgoon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
- Helena
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Gibsonburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Gabels Corner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Gabels Corner is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gabels Corner
- Woodville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ballville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ballville is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballville
- Lindsey
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Stony Prairie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Stony Prairie is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Prairie
- Seneca County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Fostoria
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Alvada
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Alvada is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvada
- Bascom
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- New Riegel
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Berwick
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Berwick is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwick
- Adrian
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bettsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Cromers
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Cromers is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromers
- Linden ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Linden is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
- Maple Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Maple Grove is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- McCutchenville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Tiffin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Wood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Bairdstown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bairdstown is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bairdstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 136 people
- North Baltimore
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bloomdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Hammansburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Hammansburg is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammansburg
- Eagleville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Eagleville is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagleville
- Cygnet
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Hoytville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hoytville is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoytville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 318 people
- Jerry City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Jerry City is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerry City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 437 people
- West Millgrove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- West Millgrove is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Millgrove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
- Six Points
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Six Points is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Six Points
- Portage
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Portage is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage
- Population from the 2020 Census: 490 people
- Custar
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wyandot County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Carey
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Wharton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wharton is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wharton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
- Kirby
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mexico
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mexico is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexico
- Belle Vernon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Belle Vernon is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Vernon
- Sycamore
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sycamore is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 811 people
- Upper Sandusky
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Upper Sandusky is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Sandusky
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,436 people
- Duenquat
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Duenquat is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duenquat
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Van Buren, see our County-by-County Page for Van Buren.
Cemeteries Near Van Buren ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Van Buren.
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 Van Buren - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Van Buren covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Radar Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Bechel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Maple Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Maplewood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hough Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Weaver Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Maplewood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bethel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hamlin Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hedges Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (390 more) ...
- Thomas Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hancock County Infirmary Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove Cemetery
- The Maple Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
- Maple Lawn Cemetery
- Maple Lawn Memorial Park
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #41968 <2>
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 Van Buren had a population of 268 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Van Buren had a population of 538 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Mortimer
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Mortimer is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mortimer
- Galatea
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Galatea is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galatea
- Wineland ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wineland is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wineland
- North Baltimore
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bairdstown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bairdstown is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bairdstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 136 people
- Portage Center
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Portage Center is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage Center
- Chase
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Chase is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chase
- Bloomdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Oil Center ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Oil Center is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil Center
- Findlay
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hammansburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Hammansburg is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammansburg
- McComb
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Arcadia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Cygnet
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Trombley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Trombley is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trombley
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Van Buren. See our List of 1890's Communities around Van Buren.
Newspapers Published in Van Buren ...
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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Van Buren.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Van Buren, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Van Buren.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Van Buren:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Hancock County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allen County
- Hardin County
- Henry County
- Lucas County
- Ottawa County
- Putnam County
- Sandusky County
- Seneca County
- Wood County
- Wyandot 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 Van Buren, 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- Van Buren) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |