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 West Canaan (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 West Canaan. 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 West Canaan ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for West Canaan: W. Canaan
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Canaan. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Canaan.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
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 south 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.
West Canaan is located in Wayne 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 Wayne County: Ashland, Holmes, Medina, Stark, Summit & Tuscarawas.
Below are the counties that are near West Canaan. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Canaan:
- Wayne County (The home county of West Canaan)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Canaan, with the one closest to West Canaan listed first.
- Aukerman
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Aukerman is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aukerman
- Burbank
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Congress
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Congress is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congress
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- Creston
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Devil Town
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Devil Town is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devil Town
- West Salem
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Sterling
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Lattasburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lattasburg is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lattasburg
- Boys Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Boys Village is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boys Village
- Smithville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- New Pittsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- New Pittsburg is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Pittsburg
- Jefferson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Jefferson is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Weilersville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Weilersville is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weilersville
- Ashland County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Canaan, with the one closest to West Canaan listed first.
- Albion
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Albion is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Redhaw
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Redhaw is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redhaw
- Rowsburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rowsburg is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowsburg
- Polk
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Polk is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk
- Population from the 2020 Census: 331 people
- Jeromesville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ashland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Nova
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Hayesville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Hayesville is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 459 people
- Bailey Lakes
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Bailey Lakes is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
- Savannah
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- McKay
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- McKay is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKay
- Ruggles
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Ruggles is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruggles
- Mifflin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mifflin is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mifflin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Champaign County
- Rochester
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rochester is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
- Cuyahoga County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Canaan, with the one closest to West Canaan listed first.
- Bennetts Corners
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bennetts Corners is located in Cuyahoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennetts Corners
- Strongsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Binola
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Binola is located in Cuyahoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binola
- Berea
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Olmsted Falls
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- North Royalton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Middleburg Heights
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Holmes County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Canaan, with the one closest to West Canaan listed first.
- Holmesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Miley Crossroads
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Miley Crossroads is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miley Crossroads
- Benton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Benton is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Nashville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Nashville is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
- Mount Hope
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Millersburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Berlin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Glenmont
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Killbuck
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Huron County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Canaan, with the one closest to West Canaan listed first.
- New London
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- White Fox
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- White Fox is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Fox
- Fitchville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Fitchville is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitchville
- Greenwich
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- West Clarksfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- West Clarksfield is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Clarksfield
- Hartland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hartland is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Wakeman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lorain County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Canaan, with the one closest to West Canaan listed first.
- Huntington
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Huntington is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
- Pheasant Run Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Pheasant Run Village is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pheasant Run Village
- Wellington
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Belden
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Belden is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belden
- Rochester
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rochester is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
- Lagrange
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Grafton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Brighton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Brighton is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Nickelplate ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Nickelplate is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickelplate
- Eaton Estates
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Eaton Estates is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eaton Estates
- Oberlin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Kipton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Kipton is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kipton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
- Elyria
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Medina County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Canaan, with the one closest to West Canaan listed first.
- Friendsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Friendsville is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendsville
- Lodi
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Westfield Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Westfield Center is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,188 people
- Seville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Gloria Glens Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Gloria Glens Park is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gloria Glens Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 449 people
- Homer
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Homer is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
- Pawnee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Pawnee is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee
- Briarwood Beach ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Briarwood Beach is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarwood Beach
- Chippewa Lake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Chippewa Lake is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chippewa Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 749 people
- Former name for Chippewa Lake:
- Chippewa-on-the-Lake
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chippewa Lake <1>
- Acme
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Acme is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- River Styx
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- River Styx is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Styx
- River Corners
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- River Corners is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Corners
- Spencer
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Richland County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Canaan, with the one closest to West Canaan listed first.
- Olivesburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Olivesburg is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivesburg
- Shenandoah
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Shenandoah is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shenandoah
- Lucas
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Newville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Newville is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newville
- Ganges
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Ganges is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ganges
- Mansfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Stark County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Canaan, with the one closest to West Canaan listed first.
- North Lawrence
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Canal Fulton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- East Greenville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- East Greenville is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Greenville
- Sippo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sippo is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sippo
- Forty Corners Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Rolling Hills Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- West Brookfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- West Brookfield is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brookfield
- Mayflower Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mayflower Village is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayflower Village
- Massillon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Brewster
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Westarado
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Westarado is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westarado
- Justus
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Justus is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Justus
- Wilmot
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Summit County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Canaan, with the one closest to West Canaan listed first.
- Clinton
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Paxton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Paxton is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
- Norton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Pigeon Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pigeon Creek is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon Creek
- Barberton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- New Franklin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- New Franklin is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Franklin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,101 people
- Copley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Montrose
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Montrose is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Comet
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Comet is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comet
- Fairlawn
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Portage Lakes
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Portage Lakes is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage Lakes
- Bath Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bath Center is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath Center
- Bath
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Canaan, see our County-by-County Page for West Canaan.
Cemeteries Near West Canaan ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Canaan.
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 West Canaan - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Canaan covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Canaan, with the one closest to West Canaan listed first.
- Clark Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Bald Knob Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Ewing Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Stanley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Canaan Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Canaan Center Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Aukerman Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Congress Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Burbank Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Yocum Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Old Dutch Reformed Congress Twp. Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Dutch Reformed Congress Twp. Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Old Dutch Reformed Congress Twp. Cemetery is located outside and to the south of Congress.
- The Old Dutch Reformed Congress Twp. Cemetery has also been known as:
- Old Dutch Reformed Cemetery
- Continue List (573 more) ...
- Kope Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kope Cemetery
- The Kope Cemetery has also been known as:
- Cope Cemetery
- Copes Cemetery
- Cupp Cemetery
- Cupps Cemetery
- Fetzer Cemetery
- Kopes Cemetery
- Kopp Cemetery
- Kopps Cemetery
- Canaan Bend Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wayne Presbyterian Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
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 West Canaan in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Canaan.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Canaan, with the one closest to West Canaan listed first.
- Burbank
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Golden Corners
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Golden Corners is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Corners
- Canaan
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Canaan is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canaan
- Congress
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Congress is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congress
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- Cedar Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Cedar Valley is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Valley
- Creston
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Friendsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Friendsville is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendsville
- Pleasant Home
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Home is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Home
- Madisonburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Madisonburg is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madisonburg
- West Salem
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Lodi
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lattasburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lattasburg is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lattasburg
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Sterling
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Seville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Redhaw
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Redhaw is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redhaw
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Canaan. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Canaan.
Newspapers Published in West Canaan ...
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 West Canaan.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Canaan, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Canaan.
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 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 West Canaan:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Wayne County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Ashland County
- Champaign County
- Cuyahoga County
- Holmes County
- Huron County
- Lorain County
- Medina County
- Richland County
- Stark County
- Summit 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 West Canaan, 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- West Canaan) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |