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 Wetsel (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 Wetsel. 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 Wetsel ...
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.
Another variation: Wetzel.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Wetsel. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Wetsel.
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 northeast 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 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 east 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.
Wetsel is located in Van Wert 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 Van Wert County: Adams (IN), Allen (IN), Allen, Auglaize, Mercer, Paulding & Putnam.
Below are the counties that are near Wetsel. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wetsel:
- Van Wert County (The home county of Wetsel)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wetsel, with the one closest to Wetsel listed first.
- Hoaglin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Hoaglin is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoaglin
- Middle Point
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Scott
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Van Wert
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Venedocia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Venedocia is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venedocia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
- Converse
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Converse is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse
- Elgin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Elgin is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Convoy
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Converse Station
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Converse Station is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse Station
- Ohio City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Monticello
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Monticello is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
- Glenmore
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Glenmore is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmore
- Abanaka
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Abanaka is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abanaka
- Allen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wetsel, with the one closest to Wetsel listed first.
- Delphos
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Landeck
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Landeck is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landeck
- Scotts Crossing
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Scotts Crossing is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Crossing
- Southworth
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Southworth is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southworth
- Gomer
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Spencerville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Elida
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Elida is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elida
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,810 people
- Conant
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Conant is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
- Cairo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cairo is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 520 people
- West Cairo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- West Cairo is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Cairo
- Lima
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Shawnee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Shawnee is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Shawnee
- Estimated population in 2012: 3,643 people
- Beaverdam
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Auglaize County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wetsel, with the one closest to Wetsel listed first.
- Buckland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Buckland is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
- Cridersville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Moulton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Moulton is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton
- Saint Marys
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Pusheta Town ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pusheta Town is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pusheta Town
- Wapakoneta
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Uniopolis
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Uniopolis is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniopolis
- Estimated population in 2016: 220 people
- Defiance County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wetsel, with the one closest to Wetsel listed first.
- Ayersville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Ayersville is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayersville
- Defiance
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Brunersburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Brunersburg is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunersburg
- Sherwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Williamstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Williamstown is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- Jewell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Jewell is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
- Hicksville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ney
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wetsel, with the one closest to Wetsel listed first.
- Pleasant Bend
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Bend is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Bend
- New Bavaria
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- New Bavaria is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bavaria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Holgate
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Florida
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Florida is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florida
- Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
- Hamler
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Okolona
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Okolona is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okolona
- Okolona has also been known as:
- Okalona
- Elery
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Elery is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elery
- Mercer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wetsel, with the one closest to Wetsel listed first.
- Mendon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Rockford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mercer
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Mercer is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercer
- Tama
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Tama is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tama
- Earley ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Earley is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earley
- Celina
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Scudder
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Scudder is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scudder
- Paulding County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wetsel, with the one closest to Wetsel listed first.
- Grover Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Grover Hill is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 377 people
- Mandale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mandale is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandale
- Murat ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Murat is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murat
- Former names for Murat:
- Hipp's Lock
- Timberville
- Haviland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Haviland is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haviland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 202 people
- Melrose
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Melrose is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 259 people
- Oakwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Oakwood is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
- Saint Andrews ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Saint Andrews is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Andrews
- Dague ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dague is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dague
- Folmer ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Folmer is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folmer
- Hedges
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hedges is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedges
- Fort Brown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Fort Brown is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Brown
- Broughton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Broughton is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broughton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
- Charloe
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Charloe is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charloe
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wetsel, with the one closest to Wetsel listed first.
- Ottoville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Fort Jennings
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Muntanna
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Muntanna is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muntanna
- Cloverdale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Cloverdale is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
- Dupont
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hartsburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hartsburg is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsburg
- Kalida
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Rimer
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Rimer is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rimer
- Continental
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Jones City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Jones City is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones City
- Kieferville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kieferville is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kieferville
- Columbus Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Glandorf
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Adams County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wetsel, with the one closest to Wetsel listed first.
- Pleasant Mills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Decatur
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Monroe
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coppess Corner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Coppess Corner is located in Adams County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppess Corner
- Allen County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wetsel, with the one closest to Wetsel listed first.
- Dixon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Dixon is located in Allen County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
- Edgerton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Edgerton is located in Allen County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
- Monroeville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Woodburn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Zulu
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Zulu is located in Allen County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zulu
- Hoagland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Harlan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wetsel, see our County-by-County Page for Wetsel.
Cemeteries Near Wetsel ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wetsel.
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 Wetsel - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wetsel covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wetsel, with the one closest to Wetsel listed first.
- Hammons Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Dotson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Duncard Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Dunkard Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkard Cemetery
- The Dunkard Cemetery has also been known as:
- German Baptist Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #40600 <2>
- Middle Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Ridge Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- King Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Marys Cemetery
- The St. Marys Cemetery has also been known as:
- Immaculate Conception Catholic Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #43193 <2>
- Antioch Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Fought Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Young Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (396 more) ...
- Boutwell Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Carlton Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mellinger Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
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 in 1895, Wetsel had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wetsel, with the one closest to Wetsel listed first.
- Hoaglin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Hoaglin is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoaglin
- Plumbs Cross Roads ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Plumbs Cross Roads is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumbs Cross Roads
- Grover Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Grover Hill is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 377 people
- Ottoville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Middle Point
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Fort Jennings
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Douglas
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Douglas is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Muntanna
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Muntanna is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muntanna
- Cavett
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Cavett is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cavett
- Delphos
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Huntstown ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Huntstown is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntstown
- Scott
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Van Wert
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cascade
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cascade is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
- Landeck
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Landeck is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landeck
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wetsel. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wetsel.
Newspapers Published in Wetsel ...
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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wetsel.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wetsel, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wetsel.
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 Wetsel:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Van Wert County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allen County
- Auglaize County
- Defiance County
- Henry County
- Mercer County
- Paulding County
- Putnam County
- Adams County
- Allen 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 Wetsel, 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- Wetsel) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |