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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 Agate (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 Agate. 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.

Agate is located in Ontonagon 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 Ontonagon County: Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Cook (MN) & Ashland (WI).

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

  • Ontonagon County     (The home county of Agate)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Agate, with the one closest to Agate listed first.
    • Trout Creek
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Paynesville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
      • Paynesville is located in Ontonagon County
    • Gem
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gem have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gem
      • Gem is located in Ontonagon County
    • Bruce Crossing
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Paulding
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Ewen
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ewen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewen
      • Ewen is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ewen <1>
    • Rousseau
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rousseau
      • Rousseau is located in Ontonagon County
    • Rockland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
      • Rockland is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockland <1>
    • Mass City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mass City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mass City
      • Mass City is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mass City <1>
    • Greenland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Bergland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bergland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bergland
      • Bergland is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bergland <1>
    • Lake Gogebic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Gogebic
      • Lake Gogebic is located in Ontonagon County
    • Firesteel
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firesteel
      • Firesteel is located in Ontonagon County
  • Baraga County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Agate, with the one closest to Agate listed first.
    • Watton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Watton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watton
      • Watton is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Watton <1>
    • Covington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Covington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covington
      • Covington is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Covington <1>
    • Alberta
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
      • Alberta is located in Baraga County
  • Gogebic County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Agate, with the one closest to Agate listed first.
    • Fuller
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fuller have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
      • Fuller is located in Gogebic County
    • Watersmeet
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Katakitckon Indian Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Katakitckon Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katakitckon Indian Village
      • Katakitckon Indian Village is located in Gogebic County
    • White City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
      • White City is located in Gogebic County
    • Marenisco
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Houghton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Agate, with the one closest to Agate listed first.
    • Kenton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenton
      • Kenton is located in Houghton County
    • Sidnaw
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Nisula
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nisula
      • Nisula is located in Houghton County
    • Hazel
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hazel have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel
      • Hazel is located in Houghton County
    • Lake Roland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Roland
      • Lake Roland is located in Houghton County
  • Iron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Agate, with the one closest to Agate listed first.
    • Atkinson ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Atkinson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson
      • Atkinson is located in Iron County
    • Gibbs City ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gibbs City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibbs City
      • Gibbs City is located in Iron County
  • Vilas County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Agate, with the one closest to Agate listed first.
    • Land O'Lakes
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Land O'Lakes
      • Land O'Lakes is located in Vilas County (WI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
    • Phelps
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelps
      • Phelps is located in Vilas County (WI)
    • Conover
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conover
      • Conover is located in Vilas County (WI)

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

Newspapers Published in Agate ...

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 12 newspapers that have been published in the area around Agate.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Agate, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Agate.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Agate:

Cemeteries Near Agate ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Agate.

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

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

  • Agate Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Agate Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Agate Cemetery
  • Trout Creek Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Paynesville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Paynesville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Paynesville Cemetery
  • Bruce Crossing Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Bruce Crossing Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<4> to the northwest of Bruce Crossing.
    • The Bruce Crossing Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hillside Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bruce Crossing Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #190 <5>
  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Barclay Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Barclay Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Barclay Cemetery
  • Interior Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Interior Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Interior Cemetery
  • Kenton Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kenton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kenton Cemetery
  • Ewen Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ewen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ewen Cemetery
  • Kitchie Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kitchie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kitchie Cemetery
  • Kitchie Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kitchie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kitchie Cemetery
  • Watersmeet Twp. Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Watersmeet Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Watersmeet Twp. Cemetery
  • Continue List   (28 more) ...
    • Sidnaw Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sidnaw Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sidnaw Cemetery
    • Rousseau Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rousseau Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rousseau Cemetery
    • Irish Hollow Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Irish Hollow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Irish Hollow 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.<6>

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

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

  • Trout Creek
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Paynesville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
    • Paynesville is located in Ontonagon County
  • Bruce Crossing
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Kenton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenton
    • Kenton is located in Houghton County
  • Robbins
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Robbins have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robbins
    • Robbins is located in Ontonagon County
  • Ewen
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ewen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewen
    • Ewen is located in Ontonagon County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ewen <1>
  • Tamarack
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tamarack have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamarack
    • Tamarack is located in Gogebic County
    • Tamarack has also been known as:
    • Tamarack Lake
  • Watersmeet
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Pori
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pori have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pori
    • Pori is located in Houghton County
  • Matchwood
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Matchwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matchwood
    • Matchwood is located in Ontonagon County
  • Sidnaw
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Rockland
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
    • Rockland is located in Ontonagon County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockland <1>
  • Continue List   (9 more) ...
    • Elmwood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood
      • Elmwood is located in Iron County
    • Thayer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thayer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thayer
      • Thayer is located in Gogebic County
    • Greenland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Agate. 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>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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Agate) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Agate. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.4740, Longitude: -89.0690    
<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>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 Agate, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024