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 (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. 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 doctors and 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 is located in Logan 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 Logan County: Auglaize, Champaign, Hardin, Shelby & Union.
Below are the counties that are near Van. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Van:
- Logan County (The home county of Van)
- The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Rushsylvania
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Marl City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Marl City is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marl City
- Belle Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Belle Center is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 810 people
- West Mansfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- West Mansfield is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Mansfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 678 people
- New Richland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- New Richland is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richland
- Huntsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Zanesfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Bellefontaine
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Valley Hi
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Valley Hi is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Hi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
- Iron City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Iron City is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Middleburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Russells Point
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Lakeview
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Allen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Harrod
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Westminster
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Westminster is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westminster
- Lafayette
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Beaverdam
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Shawnee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Shawnee is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Shawnee
- Estimated population in 2012: 3,643 people
- Bluffton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lima
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Auglaize County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Santa Fe
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Santa Fe is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Fe
- Waynesfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Waynesfield is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waynesfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 815 people
- Saint Johns
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Saint Johns is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
- Uniopolis
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Uniopolis is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniopolis
- Estimated population in 2016: 220 people
- Fryburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Fryburg is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fryburg
- Cridersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Wapakoneta
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Champaign County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- North Lewisburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Mingo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Woodstock
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Woodstock is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
- Kingscreek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Kingscreek is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingscreek
- Carysville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Carysville is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carysville
- Urbana
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Millerstown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Millerstown is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerstown
- Mechanicsburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Mutual
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Mutual is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mutual
- Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
- Westville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Westville is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville
- Delaware County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Kerr Corner
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Kerr Corner is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerr Corner
- Lybrand ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Lybrand is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lybrand
- Pickerell's Mills ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Pickerell's Mills is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickerell's Mills
- Robertsburg ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Robertsburg is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robertsburg
- Radnor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Radnor is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radnor
- Gabriel Corners ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Gabriel Corners is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gabriel Corners
- Meredith
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Meredith is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith
- Boke's Creek Settlement ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Boke's Creek Settlement is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boke's Creek Settlement
- Boke's Creek Settlement has also been known as:
- Boke's Creek
- Brindle Corner ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Brindle Corner is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brindle Corner
- Edinburg ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Edinburg is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edinburg
- Edinburg has also been known as:
- Fairview
- Ostrander
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Loveless Corners ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Loveless Corners is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveless Corners
- Mill Creek ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mill Creek is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Hancock County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Williamstown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Williamstown is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- New Stark
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- New Stark is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Stark
- Arlington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Mount Blanchard
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Jenera
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Cannonsburg ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Cannonsburg is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannonsburg
- Hardin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Ridgeway
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Ridgeway is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 328 people
- Mount Victory
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Kenton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Jumbo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jumbo is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumbo
- Pfeiffer
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pfeiffer is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pfeiffer
- Roundhead
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Grant
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Grant is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
- McGuffey
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- McGuffey is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGuffey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 484 people
- Huntersville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Huntersville is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntersville
- McVitty
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- McVitty is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVitty
- Alger
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Dola
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Dunkirk
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Madison County
- Chuckery
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Chuckery is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chuckery
- Marion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- La Rue
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- La Rue is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Rue
- Population from the 2020 Census: 711 people
- New Bloomington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- New Bloomington is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bloomington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 511 people
- Gurley ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Gurley is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gurley
- Green Camp
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Green Camp is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Camp
- Population from the 2020 Census: 356 people
- Newmans
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Newmans is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newmans
- Prospect
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Ruth
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Ruth is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Morral
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Morral is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morral
- Population from the 2020 Census: 382 people
- Marion
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Waldo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Logan ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Logan is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Jackson Center
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Maplewood
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Maplewood is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
- Montra
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Montra is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montra
- Port Jefferson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pasco
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pasco is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pasco
- Anna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Botkins
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Summersville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Summersville is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summersville
- Raymond
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Richwood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Pharisburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pharisburg is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pharisburg
- Magnetic Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Magnetic Springs is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnetic Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 304 people
- Marysville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Milford Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- New Dover
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- New Dover is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Dover
- Unionville Center
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Unionville Center is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
- Wyandot County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Marseilles
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Marseilles is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marseilles
- Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
- Kirby
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Wharton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Wharton is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wharton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
- Harpster
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Upper Sandusky
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Upper Sandusky is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Sandusky
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,436 people
- Wyandot
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wyandot is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyandot
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Van, see our County-by-County Page for Van.
Cemeteries Near Van ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Van.
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 - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Van covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Good Hope Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dorman Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Equality Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bailey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Early Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Ridgeway Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hale Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Miami Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Rushsylvania Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sieg Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Quaker Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Mt. Victory Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (502 more) ...
- Sloan - Yelverton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- McKirahan Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Northwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Van in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Van.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Big Springs
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Big Springs is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Springs
- Ridgeway
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Ridgeway is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 328 people
- Rushsylvania
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Walnut Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Walnut Grove is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Yelverton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Yelverton is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yelverton
- Northwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Northwood is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwood
- Silver Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Silver Creek is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek
- Belle Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Belle Center is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 810 people
- Harper
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Harper is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- West Mansfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- West Mansfield is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Mansfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 678 people
- North Greenfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- North Greenfield is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Greenfield
- New Richland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- New Richland is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richland
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- New Jerusalem
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- New Jerusalem is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Jerusalem
- Byhalia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Byhalia is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byhalia
- Marshs ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Marshs is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshs
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Van. See our List of 1890's Communities around Van.
Newspapers Published in Van ...
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 99 newspapers that have been published in the area around Van.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Van, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Van.
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 Van:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Logan County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allen County
- Auglaize County
- Champaign County
- Delaware County
- Hancock County
- Hardin County
- Madison County
- Marion County
- Shelby County
- Union 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> | 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, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Van) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |