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 Alfred (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 Alfred. 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 hospitals 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.
Alfred is located in Dickinson County.
To see how the shape of Michigan's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Dickinson County: Iron, Marquette, Menominee, Florence (WI) & Marinette (WI).
Below are the counties that are near Alfred. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Alfred:
- Dickinson County (The home county of Alfred)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alfred, with the one closest to Alfred listed first.
- Ralph
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Foster City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Felch Mountain
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Felch Mountain is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felch Mountain
- Felch
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Turner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Turner is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner
- Floodwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Floodwood is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floodwood
- Sagola
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Loretto
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Channing
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Norway
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Vulcan
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Quinnesec
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Iron Mountain
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Alger County
- Diffin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Diffin is located in Alger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diffin
- Delta County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alfred, with the one closest to Alfred listed first.
- Lathrop
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Lathrop is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lathrop
- Saint Nicholas
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Saint Nicholas is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Nicholas
- Rock
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Trombly
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Trombly is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trombly
- Trombly has also been known as:
- Trombley
- Cornell
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Beaver
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Beaver is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
- Perkins
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Perkins is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkins
- Chandler
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Chandler is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler
- Flat Rock
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Flat Rock is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
- Schaffer
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Schaffer is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schaffer
- Brampton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Brampton is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brampton
- Bark River
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Chaison
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Chaison is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaison
- Iron County
- Mansfield ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Mansfield is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansfield
- Marquette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alfred, with the one closest to Alfred listed first.
- Northland
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Reade
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Reade is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reade
- Arnold
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Watson ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Watson is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
- Austin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Austin is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austin
- Gwinn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- McFarland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- McFarland is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McFarland
- McFarland has also been known as:
- McFarlands
- Helena
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Helena is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
- Little Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Witbeck
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Witbeck is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Witbeck
- Palmer
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Palmer is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
- Gentian
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Gentian is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gentian
- Carlshend
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Carlshend is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlshend
- Menominee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alfred, with the one closest to Alfred listed first.
- LaBranche
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- LaBranche is located in Menominee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaBranche
- Dryads ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Dryads is located in Menominee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dryads
- Perronville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Perronville is located in Menominee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perronville
- Hermansville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Hermansville is located in Menominee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermansville
- Powers
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Spalding
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Spalding is located in Menominee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spalding
- Wilson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Wilson is located in Menominee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Faithorn
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Faithorn is located in Menominee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faithorn
- Indiantown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Indiantown is located in Menominee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indiantown
- Indiantown has also been known as:
- Indian Town
- Harris
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Blom
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Blom is located in Menominee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blom
- Florence County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alfred, with the one closest to Alfred listed first.
- Spread Eagle
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Spread Eagle is located in Florence County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread Eagle
- Aurora
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Aurora is located in Florence County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Marinette County (WI)
- Niagara
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Niagara is located in Marinette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niagara
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,535 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Alfred, see our County-by-County Page for Alfred.
Cemeteries Near Alfred ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alfred.
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.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Alfred - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Alfred covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Alfred, with the one closest to Alfred listed first.
- Riverview Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Ralph Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Foster City Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Forest Home Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Felch Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gwinn Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bakkala Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- St. Nicholas Cemetery
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Lathrop Cemetery
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Hillview Cemetery
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Rock Cemetery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Sagola Twp. Cemetery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (30 more) ...
- Waucedah Twp. Cemetery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Maple Ridge Cemetery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- St. Michaels Cemetery
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Alfred in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Alfred.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Alfred, with the one closest to Alfred listed first.
- Hardwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Hardwood is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardwood
- Foster City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hylas ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Hylas is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hylas
- Faunus ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Faunus is located in Menominee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faunus
- Dryads ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Dryads is located in Menominee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dryads
- McFarland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- McFarland is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McFarland
- McFarland has also been known as:
- McFarlands
- Little Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Swanzy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Swanzy is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swanzy
- Plains
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Plains is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plains
- Lathrop
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Lathrop is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lathrop
- Floodwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Floodwood is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floodwood
- Randville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Randville is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randville
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Whitney
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Whitney is located in Menominee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
- Sagola
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Granite Bluff
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Granite Bluff is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite Bluff
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Alfred. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alfred.
Newspapers Published in Alfred ...
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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alfred.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alfred, 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 Alfred.
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 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 Alfred:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Dickinson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alger County
- Delta County
- Iron County
- Marquette County
- Menominee County
- Florence County
- Marinette County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Michigan
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 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. |
| <3> | 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 Alfred, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Alfred) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |