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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 Alton (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 Alton. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Alton is located in Delta County.

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 Delta County: Alger, Marquette, Menominee & Schoolcraft.

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

  • Delta County     (The home county of Alton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Garth
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garth
      • Garth is located in Delta County
    • Ogontz
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ogontz have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogontz
      • Ogontz is located in Delta County
    • Rapid River
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Jacques
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Jacques
      • Saint Jacques is located in Delta County
    • Kipling
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kipling
      • Kipling is located in Delta County
    • Maplewood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maplewood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
      • Maplewood is located in Delta County
    • Gladstone
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Chaison
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaison
      • Chaison is located in Delta County
    • Brampton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brampton
      • Brampton is located in Delta County
    • Nahma
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nahma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nahma
      • Nahma is located in Delta County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nahma <2>
    • Larch
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larch
      • Larch is located in Delta County
    • Lambert
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert
      • Lambert is located in Delta County
  • Alger County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Trenary
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trenary have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenary
      • Trenary is located in Alger County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trenary <2>
    • Diffin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Diffin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diffin
      • Diffin is located in Alger County
    • Traunik
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Traunik
      • Traunik is located in Alger County
      • Former names for Traunik:
      • Buckeye Landing
      • Buckeye Spur
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Traunik <2>
  • Marquette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • McFarland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McFarland
      • McFarland is located in Marquette County
      • McFarland has also been known as:
      • McFarlands
    • Watson ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
      • Watson is located in Marquette County
    • Helena
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Helena have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
      • Helena is located in Marquette County
  • Menominee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Perronville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perronville
      • Perronville is located in Menominee County
    • Harris
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harris have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
      • Harris is located in Menominee County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harris <2>
    • Dryads ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dryads. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dryads
      • Dryads is located in Menominee County
    • LaBranche
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaBranche
      • LaBranche is located in Menominee County
    • Wilson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
      • Wilson is located in Menominee County
  • Schoolcraft County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Cooks
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cooks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks
      • Cooks is located in Schoolcraft County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cooks <2>
    • Elkhorn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
      • Elkhorn is located in Schoolcraft County
    • Minor Beach
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor Beach
      • Minor Beach is located in Schoolcraft County
    • Copenhagen Beach
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copenhagen Beach
      • Copenhagen Beach is located in Schoolcraft County
    • Steuben
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Steuben have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
      • Steuben is located in Schoolcraft County

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

Newspapers Published in Alton ...

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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alton, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alton.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Alton:

Cemeteries Near Alton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alton.

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 Alton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • McLeod Grave
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McLeod Grave have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McLeod Grave
  • Rapid River Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rapid River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rapid River Cemetery
  • Garth Point Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Garth Point Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Garth Point Cemetery
  • Johnston Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Johnston Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Johnston Cemetery
  • Ogontz Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ogontz Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ogontz Cemetery
  • Bay de Noc Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bay de Noc Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bay de Noc Cemetery
  • St. Jacques' Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Jacques' Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Jacques' Cemetery
  • Fernwood Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fernwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fernwood Cemetery
  • Indian Point Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Point Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Point Cemetery
  • Lakewood Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakewood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakewood Cemetery
  • Indian Town Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Town Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Town Cemetery
  • Flat Rock Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Flat Rock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Flat Rock Cemetery
  • Continue List   (44 more) ...
    • Nahma Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nahma Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nahma Cemetery
    • Perkins Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Garden of Rest Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Garden of Rest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Garden of Rest Cemetery

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.<5>

While we didn't find Alton in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Alton.

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

  • Ensign
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ensign have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ensign
    • Ensign is located in Delta County
  • Ogontz
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ogontz have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogontz
    • Ogontz is located in Delta County
  • Rapid River
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Masonville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Masonville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masonville
    • Masonville is located in Delta County
  • Kipling
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kipling
    • Kipling is located in Delta County
  • Gladstone
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • West Gladstone
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Gladstone have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Gladstone
    • West Gladstone is located in Delta County
  • Brampton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brampton
    • Brampton is located in Delta County
  • Nahma
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nahma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nahma
    • Nahma is located in Delta County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nahma <2>
  • North Escanaba
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Escanaba have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Escanaba
    • North Escanaba is located in Delta County
  • Wells
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
    • Wells is located in Delta County
  • Perkins
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkins
    • Perkins is located in Delta County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Escanaba
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Beaver
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
      • Beaver is located in Delta County
    • Isabella
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella
      • Isabella is located in Delta County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Alton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Delta County: www.deltacountymi.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 from Point A (ie- Alton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.8830, Longitude: -86.8843       In this case, the coordinates for Alton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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 Alton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024