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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 Agnew (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 Agnew. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.

Agnew is located in Ottawa 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 Ottawa County: Allegan, Kent & Muskegon.

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

  • Ottawa County     (The home county of Agnew)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Agnew, with the one closest to Agnew listed first.
    • West Olive
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Robinson
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Robinson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
      • Robinson is located in Ottawa County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Robinson
      • From Agnew to Robinson
    • Port Sheldon
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Grand Haven
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Spring Lake
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
      • Spring Lake is located in Ottawa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,504 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring Lake <2>
    • Rusk
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Ferrysburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ferrysburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferrysburg
      • Ferrysburg is located in Ottawa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,022 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ferrysburg <2>
    • Nunica
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nunica have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunica
      • Nunica is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nunica <2>
    • Noordeloos
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Allendale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Eastmanville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Beechwood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beechwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood
      • Beechwood is located in Ottawa County
    • Waverly
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Waverly. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
      • Waverly is located in Ottawa County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Waverly
      • From Agnew to Waverly
  • Allegan County
  • Kent County
  • Muskegon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Agnew, with the one closest to Agnew listed first.
    • Fruitport
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fruitport have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitport
      • Fruitport is located in Muskegon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,165 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fruitport <2>
    • Norton Shores
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norton Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton Shores
      • Norton Shores is located in Muskegon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 24,623 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norton Shores <2>
    • Muskegon Heights
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Roosevelt Park
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Sullivan
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Muskegon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Ravenna
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ravenna have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenna
      • Ravenna is located in Muskegon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,276 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ravenna <2>
    • North Muskegon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Wolf Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolf Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
      • Wolf Lake is located in Muskegon County
    • Morgan Corners
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Slocum
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Slocum. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slocum
      • Slocum is located in Muskegon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Slocum
      • From Agnew to Slocum
    • Dalton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Canada Corners
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Newaygo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Agnew, with the one closest to Agnew listed first.
    • Bridgeton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Sitka
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sitka. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
      • Sitka is located in Newaygo County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sitka
      • From Agnew to Sitka
    • Ashland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ashland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
      • Ashland is located in Newaygo County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ashland
      • From Agnew to Ashland

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

Cemeteries Near Agnew ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Agnew.

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

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

  • Cobmosay Grave
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cobmosay Grave
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cobmosay Grave have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Indian Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Grand Haven Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grand Haven Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grand Haven Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • West Olive Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Olive Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Olive Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pine Ridge Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Ridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Olive Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Olive Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Olive Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lake Forest Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake Forest Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lake Forest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Spring Lake Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spring Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spring Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ventura Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ventura Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ventura Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Robinson Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Robinson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Robinson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rusk Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rusk Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rusk Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ottawa Center Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ottawa Center Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ottawa Center Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (179 more) ...
    • Nunica Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nunica Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nunica Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Lake Shore Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake Shore Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lake Shore Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Borculo Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Borculo Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Borculo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Agnew had a population of 50 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • West Olive
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Robinson
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Robinson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
    • Robinson is located in Ottawa County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Robinson
    • From Agnew to Robinson
  • Olive Center
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olive Center have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olive Center
    • Olive Center is located in Ottawa County
  • Grand Haven
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Spring Lake
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
    • Spring Lake is located in Ottawa County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,504 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring Lake <2>
  • Ferrysburg
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ferrysburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferrysburg
    • Ferrysburg is located in Ottawa County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,022 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ferrysburg <2>
  • New Holland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Holland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Holland
    • New Holland is located in Ottawa County
  • Borculo
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Borculo have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borculo
    • Borculo is located in Ottawa County
  • Nunica
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nunica have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunica
    • Nunica is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nunica <2>
  • Noordeloos
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Allendale
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Eastmanville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Fruitport
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fruitport have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitport
      • Fruitport is located in Muskegon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,165 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fruitport <2>
    • Pearline
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pearline have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearline
      • Pearline is located in Ottawa County
    • Dennison
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dennison have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennison
      • Dennison is located in Ottawa County

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

Newspapers Published in Agnew ...

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 145 newspapers that have been published in the area around Agnew.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Agnew, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Agnew.

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 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 Agnew:

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

The official website for Ottawa County: www.co.ottawa.mi.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 Agnew, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Agnew) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Agnew. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.9649, Longitude: -86.1767    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025