RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Michigan >> Alpena County >> Alpena >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Michigan

The Commemorative Quarter for Michigan





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 Alpena (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 Alpena. 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 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.

Alpena is located in Alpena County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of Michigan's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Alpena County: Alcona, Montmorency, Oscoda & Presque Isle.

Below are the counties that are near Alpena. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Alpena:

  • Alpena County     (The home county of Alpena)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alpena, with the one closest to Alpena listed first.
    • McHarg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McHarg
      • McHarg is located in Alpena County
    • Ossineke
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Herron
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herron
      • Herron is located in Alpena County
    • Lachine
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lachine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lachine
      • Lachine is located in Alpena County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lachine <1>
    • Long Rapids
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Rapids
      • Long Rapids is located in Alpena County
    • Hubbard Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Flanders
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flanders
      • Flanders is located in Alpena County
  • Alcona County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alpena, with the one closest to Alpena listed first.
    • Spruce
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Black River
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Lost Lake Woods
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Lake Woods
      • Lost Lake Woods is located in Alcona County
    • Alcona
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcona
      • Alcona is located in Alcona County
    • Hubbard Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbard Lake
      • Hubbard Lake is located in Alcona County
    • Lincoln
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Barton City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Harrisville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Gustin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gustin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gustin
      • Gustin is located in Alcona County
    • Springport
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springport
      • Springport is located in Alcona County
    • Curran
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Montmorency County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alpena, with the one closest to Alpena listed first.
    • Hillman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Royston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royston
      • Royston is located in Montmorency County
  • Presque Isle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alpena, with the one closest to Alpena listed first.
    • Leroy
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leroy
      • Leroy is located in Presque Isle County
    • Bell ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
      • Bell is located in Presque Isle County
    • Presque Isle
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Polaski
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polaski
      • Polaski is located in Presque Isle County
    • Posen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Posen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Posen
      • Posen is located in Presque Isle County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Posen <1>
    • Metz
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Metz have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metz
      • Metz is located in Presque Isle County
    • Liske
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liske
      • Liske is located in Presque Isle County
    • Hagensville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagensville
      • Hagensville is located in Presque Isle County
    • Hawks
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawks
      • Hawks is located in Presque Isle County
    • Calcite
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Calcite have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcite
      • Calcite is located in Presque Isle County
    • Rogers City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rogers City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers City
      • Rogers City is located in Presque Isle County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,665 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogers City <1>

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Alpena, see our County-by-County Page for Alpena.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Alpena ...

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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alpena.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Alpena. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Alpena and those printed in the larger area surrounding Alpena.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Alpena.

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 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 Alpena:

Cemeteries Near Alpena ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alpena.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Alpena covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Alpena, with the one closest to Alpena listed first.

  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Evergreen Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Alpena.
    • The Evergreen Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Alpena Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #474 <4>
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Grove Cemetery
  • Hebrew Benevolent Society Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hebrew Benevolent Society Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hebrew Benevolent Society Cemetery
  • Grace Lutheran Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grace Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grace Lutheran Cemetery
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Holy Cross Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Alpena.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #742 <4>
  • Wilson Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilson Cemetery
  • Sanborn Twp. Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sanborn Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sanborn Twp. Cemetery
  • Cathro Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cathro Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cathro Cemetery
  • Herron St. Rose's Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Herron St. Rose's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Herron St. Rose's Cemetery
  • German Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the German Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the German Cemetery
  • Pilgrims Rest Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pilgrims Rest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pilgrims Rest Cemetery
  • St. Catherine's Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Catherine's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Catherine's Cemetery
  • Continue List   (41 more) ...
    • St. Matthew Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Matthew Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Matthew Cemetery
    • St. Paul Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul Cemetery
    • Bell Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Bell Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bell Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2512006 <4>

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Alpena had a population of 11,282 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Alpena had a population of 9,885 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Alpena, with the one closest to Alpena listed first.

  • Ossineke
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Bolton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bolton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton
    • Bolton is located in Alpena County
  • Bell ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
    • Bell is located in Presque Isle County
  • Long Rapids
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Rapids
    • Long Rapids is located in Alpena County
  • Hubbard Lake
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Flanders
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flanders
    • Flanders is located in Alpena County
  • Presque Isle
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Black River
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Posen
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Posen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Posen
    • Posen is located in Presque Isle County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Posen <1>
  • Alcona
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcona
    • Alcona is located in Alcona County
  • Hillman
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Hagensville
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagensville
    • Hagensville is located in Presque Isle County

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Alpena. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alpena.

The official website for Alpena: www.alpena.mi.us/

The official website for Alpena County: www.alpenacounty.org/

The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/

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 location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>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 from Point A (ie- Alpena) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alpena. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.0614, Longitude: -83.4347    
<4>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.
<5>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<6>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 Alpena, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024