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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 Alpha (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 Alpha. 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.

Alpha is located in Iron 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 Iron County: Baraga, Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Marquette, Ontonagon, Florence (WI), Forest (WI) & Vilas (WI).

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

  • Iron County     (The home county of Alpha)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alpha, with the one closest to Alpha listed first.
    • Clinch ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clinch. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinch
      • Clinch is located in Iron County
    • Mastodon
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mastodon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mastodon
      • Mastodon is located in Iron County
    • Crystal Falls
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Pentoga
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pentoga
      • Pentoga is located in Iron County
    • Chicagon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chicagon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicagon
      • Chicagon is located in Iron County
    • Gaastra
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gaastra have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaastra
      • Gaastra is located in Iron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 324 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gaastra <3>
    • Mansfield ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mansfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansfield
      • Mansfield is located in Iron County
    • Bates Junction
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bates Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bates Junction
      • Bates Junction is located in Iron County
    • Caspian
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Stambaugh
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stambaugh have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stambaugh
      • Stambaugh is located in Iron County
    • Amasa
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Iron River
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iron River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron River
      • Iron River is located in Iron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,827 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Iron River <3>
  • Dickinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alpha, with the one closest to Alpha listed first.
    • Sagola
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Channing
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Iron Mountain
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Kingsford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kingsford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsford
      • Kingsford is located in Dickinson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,923 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kingsford <3>
    • Turner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner
      • Turner is located in Dickinson County
    • Quinnesec
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Felch Mountain
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felch Mountain
      • Felch Mountain is located in Dickinson County
    • Felch
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Norway
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norway have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norway
      • Norway is located in Dickinson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,714 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norway <3>
    • Ralph
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Foster City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foster City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster City
      • Foster City is located in Dickinson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Foster City <3>
    • Vulcan
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vulcan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vulcan
      • Vulcan is located in Dickinson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vulcan <3>
  • Florence County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alpha, with the one closest to Alpha listed first.
    • Florence
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
      • Florence is located in Florence County (WI)
    • Commonwealth
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Commonwealth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commonwealth
      • Commonwealth is located in Florence County (WI)
    • Fern ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fern have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern
      • Fern is located in Florence County (WI)
    • Tipler
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipler
      • Tipler is located in Florence County (WI)
    • Aurora
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
      • Aurora is located in Florence County (WI)
  • Forest County (WI)
    • Nelma
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelma
      • Nelma is located in Forest County (WI)
  • Marinette County (WI)
    • Niagara
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Niagara have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niagara
      • Niagara is located in Marinette County (WI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,535 people

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

Newspapers Published in Alpha ...

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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alpha.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alpha, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alpha.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Alpha:

Cemeteries Near Alpha ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alpha.

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

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

  • Crystal Falls City Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Crystal Falls City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Crystal Falls City Cemetery
  • Indian Burial Ground
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Burial Ground have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Burial Ground
  • Bates Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bates Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bates Cemetery
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Cemetery
  • Stambaugh Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Stambaugh Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stambaugh Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stambaugh Cemetery
  • Hematite Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hematite Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hematite Cemetery
  • Iron River Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Martin Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Martin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Martin Cemetery
  • Resthaven Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Resthaven Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Resthaven Cemetery
  • Sagola Twp. Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Long Lake Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Long Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Long Lake Cemetery
    • Rosehill Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Hillside Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillside 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 Alpha in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Alpha.

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

  • Mastodon
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mastodon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mastodon
    • Mastodon is located in Iron County
  • Panola
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panola have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
    • Panola is located in Iron County
  • Stager
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stager have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stager
    • Stager is located in Iron County
  • Crystal Falls
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Ridgetop
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ridgetop have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgetop
    • Ridgetop is located in Florence County (WI)
  • Florence
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
    • Florence is located in Florence County (WI)
  • Commonwealth
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Commonwealth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commonwealth
    • Commonwealth is located in Florence County (WI)
  • Mansfield ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mansfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansfield
    • Mansfield is located in Iron County
  • Stambaugh
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stambaugh have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stambaugh
    • Stambaugh is located in Iron County
  • Amasa
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Iron River
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iron River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron River
    • Iron River is located in Iron County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,827 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Iron River <3>
  • Sagola
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Randville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Randville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randville
      • Randville is located in Dickinson County
    • Spread Eagle
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spread Eagle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread Eagle
      • Spread Eagle is located in Florence County (WI)
    • Pulp
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pulp have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulp
      • Pulp is located in Florence County (WI)

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

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

The official website for Iron County: www.iron.org/

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>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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Alpha) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alpha. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.0453, Longitude: -88.3776    
<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 Alpha, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024