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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 Alvin (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 Alvin. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.

Alvin is located in Alcona 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 Alcona County: Alpena, Iosco, Montmorency, Ogemaw & Oscoda.

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

  • Alcona County     (The home county of Alvin)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alvin, with the one closest to Alvin listed first.
    • Mikado
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Gustin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • Greenbush
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Springport
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
    • Lincoln
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Harrisville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Barton City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Glennie
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Hubbard Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbard Lake
      • Hubbard Lake is located in Alcona County
    • Lost Lake Woods
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Lake Woods
      • Lost Lake Woods is located in Alcona County
    • Alcona
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcona
      • Alcona is located in Alcona County
    • Black River
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Curtisville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtisville
      • Curtisville is located in Alcona County
  • Alpena County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alvin, with the one closest to Alvin listed first.
    • Hubbard Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Ossineke
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Arenac County
    • Harmon City Heights
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harmon City Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmon City Heights
      • Harmon City Heights is located in Arenac County
  • Iosco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alvin, with the one closest to Alvin listed first.
    • Foote Site Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foote Site Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foote Site Village
      • Foote Site Village is located in Iosco County
    • Wilber
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilber have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilber
      • Wilber is located in Iosco County
    • Au Sable
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Au Sable
      • Au Sable is located in Iosco County
    • Oscoda
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oscoda have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oscoda
      • Oscoda is located in Iosco County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oscoda <1>
    • Sid Town
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sid Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sid Town
      • Sid Town is located in Iosco County
    • East Tawas
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Tawas City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Hale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • White Rock ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
      • White Rock is located in Iosco County
    • Long Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • National City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for National City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for National City
      • National City is located in Iosco County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for National City <1>
    • Whittemore
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whittemore have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittemore
      • Whittemore is located in Iosco County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 375 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whittemore <1>
  • Ogemaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alvin, with the one closest to Alvin listed first.
    • South Branch
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Lupton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Oscoda County
    • McKinley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McKinley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKinley
      • McKinley is located in Oscoda County

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

Newspapers Published in Alvin ...

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 8 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alvin.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alvin, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alvin.

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 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 Alvin:

Cemeteries Near Alvin ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alvin.

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

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

  • Chippewa Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chippewa Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chippewa Cemetery
  • St. Raphael Catholic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the St. Raphael Catholic Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Raphael Catholic Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Mikado.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Raphael Catholic Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2308267 <5>
  • Mikado Twp. Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Pinecrest Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pinecrest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pinecrest Cemetery
  • Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sacred Heart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sacred Heart Cemetery
  • Au Sable Twp. Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Au Sable Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Au Sable Twp. Cemetery
  • Springport Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Anne Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Anne Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Anne Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Harrisville.
    • The St. Anne Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St. Annes Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Anne Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1575 <5>
  • Twin Lake Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Wilber Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilber Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilber Cemetery
  • Westlawn Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Westlawn Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Harrisville.
    • The Westlawn Cemetery has also been known as:
    • West Cemetery
    • West Lawn Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Westlawn Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1950 <5>
  • Maple Ridge Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Maple Ridge Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the west of Barton City.
    • The Maple Ridge Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Barton City Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Ridge Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1008 <5>
  • Continue List   (41 more) ...
    • Pioneer Plains Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Plains Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Plains Cemetery
    • Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Glennie Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Glennie Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the north of Glennie.
      • The Glennie Cemetery has also been known as:
      • East Curtis Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Glennie Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #602 <5>

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.<7>

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

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

  • Mikado
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Greenbush
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Gustin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • 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
  • Wilber
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilber have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilber
    • Wilber is located in Iosco County
  • Au Sable
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Au Sable
    • Au Sable is located in Iosco County
  • Oscoda
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oscoda have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oscoda
    • Oscoda is located in Iosco County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oscoda <1>
  • Bryant
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bryant have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
    • Bryant is located in Alcona County
  • East Tawas
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Tawas City
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Alcona
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcona
    • Alcona is located in Alcona County
  • Hale
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Black River
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Long Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Curran
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • McIvor
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McIvor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIvor
      • McIvor is located in Iosco County

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

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

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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Alvin) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alvin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.5245, Longitude: -83.4425       In this case, the coordinates for Alvin have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>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.
<6>To help visualize the location of the cemetery, we've drawn a straight line between the communities of Greenbush and Harrisville. The cemetery can be found near that line and roughly halfway between the two communities. Remember that this is just an approximate location.
<7>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 Alvin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024