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 Center (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 Center. 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 Center ...
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 Center: W. Center
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 doctors 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 Center is located in Summit 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 Summit County: Cuyahoga, Geauga, Medina, Portage, Stark & Wayne.
Below are the counties that are near West Center. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Center:
- Summit County (The home county of West Center)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Center, with the one closest to West Center listed first.
- Richfield
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Bath
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Boston
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Boston is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boston
- Boston has also been known as:
- Boston Mill
- Helltown
- Peninsula
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Bath Center
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Bath Center is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath Center
- Northfield Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Northfield Center is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northfield Center
- Boston Heights
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Boston Heights is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boston Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,312 people
- Emmons Corner
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Emmons Corner is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons Corner
- Macedonia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Fairlawn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Montrose
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Montrose is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Bosworth ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Bosworth is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bosworth
- Cuyahoga County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Center, with the one closest to West Center listed first.
- Brecksville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Broadview Heights
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- North Royalton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bennetts Corners
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Bennetts Corners is located in Cuyahoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennetts Corners
- Independence
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Seven Hills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Valley View
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Walton Hills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Strongsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Binola
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Binola is located in Cuyahoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binola
- Middleburg Heights
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Parma Heights
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Geauga County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Center, with the one closest to West Center listed first.
- Bainbridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- South Russell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- South Russell is located in Geauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Russell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,713 people
- Yates Corners
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Yates Corners is located in Geauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates Corners
- Auburn Corners
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Auburn Corners is located in Geauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn Corners
- Chesterland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Welshfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Welshfield is located in Geauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welshfield
- Burton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lake County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Center, with the one closest to West Center listed first.
- Willoughby Hills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wickliffe
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Willowick
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Pecks Corners
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pecks Corners is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pecks Corners
- Waite Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Waite Hill is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waite Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 452 people
- Kirtland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Willoughby
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeline
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Lakeline is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeline
- Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
- Timberlake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Timberlake is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 642 people
- Eastlake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lorain County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Center, with the one closest to West Center listed first.
- Belden
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Belden is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belden
- Eaton Estates
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Eaton Estates is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eaton Estates
- Fields
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Fields is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fields
- North Ridgeville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Grafton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Avon
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Lagrange
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Sheffield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Elyria
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Avon Lake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Avon Point
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Avon Point is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon Point
- Nickelplate ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Nickelplate is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickelplate
- Medina County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Center, with the one closest to West Center listed first.
- Hinckley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Granger
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Granger is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granger
- Youngs Corners
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Youngs Corners is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngs Corners
- Brunswick
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Windfall
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Windfall is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windfall
- Sharon Center
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Medina
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Abbeyville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Abbeyville is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbeyville
- Valley City Station
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Valley City Station is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley City Station
- Poe
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Poe is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poe
- Valley City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- River Styx
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- River Styx is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Styx
- Portage County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Center, with the one closest to West Center listed first.
- Aurora
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Camelot Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Camelot Village is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelot Village
- Streetsboro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Sugar Bush Knolls
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Sugar Bush Knolls is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Bush Knolls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
- Kent
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Doolittles Corners
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Doolittles Corners is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doolittles Corners
- Brady Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Brady Lake is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady Lake
- Estimated population in 2018: 464 people
- Brimfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pine Gate Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Pine Gate Village is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Gate Village
- Evergreen Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Evergreen Village is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Village
- Mantua
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Ravenna
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Stark County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Center, with the one closest to West Center listed first.
- Uniontown
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Canal Fulton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Greentown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Greentown is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greentown
- Hartville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- North Lawrence
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- New Baltimore
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- New Baltimore is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Baltimore
- Forty Corners Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- North Canton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sippo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Sippo is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sippo
- Oval City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Oval City is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oval City
- Wayne County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Center, with the one closest to West Center listed first.
- Doylestown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Rittman
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Sterling
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Creston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Marshallville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Burbank
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Aukerman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Aukerman is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aukerman
- Burton City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Burton City is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burton City
- Orrville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Smithville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Weilersville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Weilersville is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weilersville
- Congress
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Congress is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congress
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Center, see our County-by-County Page for West Center.
Cemeteries Near West Center ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Center.
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 Center - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Center covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Center, with the one closest to West Center listed first.
- West Richfield Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Fairview Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Hinckley Ridge Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinckley Ridge Cemetery
- The Hinckley Ridge Cemetery has also been known as:
- Ridge Cemetery
- Wheatley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Osborn Corners Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Dewey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Barr Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Barr Road Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Maple Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Hill Cemetery
- The Maple Hill Cemetery has also been known as:
- Fairview Cemetery
- Hinckley Center Cemetery
- Maple Grove Cemetery
- Beach Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Moore's Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Revere Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (458 more) ...
- Brecksville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brecksville Cemetery
- The Brecksville Cemetery has also been known as:
- Brecksville Highland Drive Cemetery
- Center Cemetery
- Highland Cemetery
- Highland Drive Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1972738 <3>
- Bath Center Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Ira Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
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 West Center in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Center.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Center, with the one closest to West Center listed first.
- West Richfield
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- West Richfield is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Richfield
- Richfield
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Hinckley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Remsen Corners
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Remsen Corners is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Remsen Corners
- Everett
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Everett is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everett
- Peninsula
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Boston
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Boston is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boston
- Boston has also been known as:
- Boston Mill
- Helltown
- Brecksville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Ghent
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Ghent is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ghent
- Ira
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ira is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- North Royalton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bennetts Corners
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Bennetts Corners is located in Cuyahoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennetts Corners
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Granger
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Granger is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granger
- Botzum
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Botzum is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botzum
- Weymouth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Weymouth is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weymouth
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Center. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Center.
Newspapers Published in West Center ...
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 112 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Center.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Center, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Center.
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 professional and volunteer 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 West Center:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Summit County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cuyahoga County
- Geauga County
- Lake County
- Lorain County
- Medina County
- Portage County
- Stark County
- Wayne 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> | 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- West Center) 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 West Center, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |