Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about West Union. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added West Union to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with West Union, please Contact Us.
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 Union (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 Union. 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 Union ...
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 West Union: W. Union
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Union. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Union.
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 and 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.
Although our information shows that the community of West Union is historic, it would have been located within present day 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 West Union. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Union:
- Hancock County (The home county of West Union)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Williamstown
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Williamstown is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- New Stark
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- New Stark is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Stark
- Arlington
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jenera
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Blanchard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cannonsburg ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cannonsburg is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannonsburg
- Rawson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Cory
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Cory is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cory
- Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
- Vanlue
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Vanlue is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanlue
- Population from the 2020 Census: 351 people
- Benton Ridge
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Benton Ridge is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 289 people
- Findlay
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Lewisburg ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lewisburg is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
- Allen County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Bluffton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Harrod
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lafayette
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Beaverdam
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Westminster
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Westminster is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westminster
- Cairo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Cairo is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 520 people
- West Cairo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- West Cairo is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Cairo
- Lima
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Fort Shawnee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Fort Shawnee is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Shawnee
- Estimated population in 2012: 3,643 people
- Elida
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Elida is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elida
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,810 people
- Gomer
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Auglaize County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Waynesfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Waynesfield is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waynesfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 815 people
- Uniopolis
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Uniopolis is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniopolis
- Estimated population in 2016: 220 people
- Cridersville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Santa Fe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Santa Fe is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Fe
- Saint Johns
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Johns is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Benton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Benton is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Lemert
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lemert is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemert
- Oceola
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Oceola is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oceola
- Hardin County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Dunkirk
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Dola
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Forest
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Patterson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Patterson is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- McVitty
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- McVitty is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVitty
- Grant
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Grant is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
- Huntersville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Huntersville is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntersville
- Ada
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- McGuffey
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- McGuffey is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGuffey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 484 people
- Kenton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Alger
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pfeiffer
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pfeiffer is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pfeiffer
- Henry County
- Deshler
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Logan County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Belle Center
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Belle Center is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 810 people
- New Richland
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- New Richland is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richland
- Rushsylvania
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Marl City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Marl City is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marl City
- Huntsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Lakeview
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Russells Point
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- West Mansfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- West Mansfield is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Mansfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 678 people
- Marion County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- La Rue
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- La Rue is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Rue
- Population from the 2020 Census: 711 people
- Morral
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Morral is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morral
- Population from the 2020 Census: 382 people
- New Bloomington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- New Bloomington is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bloomington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 511 people
- Gurley ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Gurley is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gurley
- Ruth
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ruth is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Green Camp
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Green Camp is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Camp
- Population from the 2020 Census: 356 people
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Pandora
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Pandora is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pandora
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,101 people
- Gilboa
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Gilboa is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilboa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Columbus Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Townwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Townwood is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townwood
- Ottawa
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Leipsic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Glandorf
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Leipsic Junction
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Leipsic Junction is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leipsic Junction
- Belmore
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Belmore is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- West Leipsic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- West Leipsic is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leipsic
- Population from the 2020 Census: 188 people
- Jones City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Jones City is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones City
- Rimer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Rimer is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rimer
- Seneca County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Alvada
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Alvada is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvada
- Adrian
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Berwick
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Berwick is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwick
- McCutchenville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- New Riegel
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Fostoria
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bascom
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wood County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Bairdstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Bairdstown is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bairdstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 136 people
- Bloomdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- North Baltimore
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Eagleville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Eagleville is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagleville
- Hoytville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Hoytville is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoytville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 318 people
- Hammansburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Hammansburg is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammansburg
- Cygnet
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Jerry City
(30 miles [48.3 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
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- West Millgrove is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Millgrove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
- Wyandot County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Wharton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Wharton is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wharton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
- Kirby
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Marseilles
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Marseilles is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marseilles
- Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
- Carey
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Upper Sandusky
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Upper Sandusky is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Sandusky
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,436 people
- Harpster
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Belle Vernon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Belle Vernon is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Vernon
- Sycamore
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Sycamore is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 811 people
- Mexico
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mexico is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexico
- Nevada
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Duenquat
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Duenquat is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duenquat
- Wyandot
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Wyandot is located in Wyandot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyandot
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Union, see our County-by-County Page for West Union.
Cemeteries Near West Union ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Union.
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 Union - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Union covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Williamstown Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Dola Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Eagle Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Dunkirk Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Earlywine Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hueston Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Johnson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Castor Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Trinity Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Arlington Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Smith Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (440 more) ...
- Patterson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Price Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Hasson 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.
While we didn't find West Union in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Union.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Williamstown
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Williamstown is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- Dunkirk
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- New Stark
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- New Stark is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Stark
- Arlington
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jenera
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hassan ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Hassan is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hassan
- McVitty
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- McVitty is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVitty
- Patterson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Patterson is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Forest
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Mount Blanchard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Grant
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Grant is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
- Houcktown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Houcktown is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houcktown
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Cordelia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Cordelia is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordelia
- Ada
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Cannonsburg ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cannonsburg is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannonsburg
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Union. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Union.
Newspapers Published in West Union ...
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 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Union.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Union, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Union.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 West Union:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Hancock County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allen County
- Auglaize County
- Crawford County
- Hardin County
- Henry County
- Logan County
- Marion County
- Putnam County
- Seneca County
- Wood County
- Wyandot County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Ohio
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Union, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- West Union) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |