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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Alston (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 Alston. 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.

Alston is located in Houghton 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 Houghton County: Baraga, Iron, Keweenaw, Ontonagon & Ashland (WI).

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

  • Houghton County     (The home county of Alston)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alston, with the one closest to Alston listed first.
    • Nisula
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Nisula is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nisula
    • Hazel
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Hazel is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel
    • Elo
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Elo is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elo
    • Lake Roland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake Roland is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Roland
    • Toivola
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Champion Mine
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Champion Mine is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champion Mine
    • Sidnaw
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Painesdale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Painesdale is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Painesdale
    • Chassell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Portage Entry
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Portage Entry is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage Entry
    • Kenton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Kenton is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenton
    • Baltic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Baltic is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltic
  • Baraga County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alston, with the one closest to Alston listed first.
    • Pelkie
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bear Town
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Bear Town is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Town
    • Baraga
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • L'Anse
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Keweenaw Bay
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Keweenaw Bay is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keweenaw Bay
    • Alberta
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Alberta is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
    • Pequaming
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Pequaming is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pequaming
    • Watton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Covington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Vermilac
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Vermilac is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermilac
    • Skanee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Nestoria
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Nestoria is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nestoria
  • Ontonagon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alston, with the one closest to Alston listed first.
    • Rousseau
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Rousseau is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rousseau
    • Wasas
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Wasas is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasas
    • Wainola
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Wainola is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wainola
    • Mass City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Greenland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Rockland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Trout Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Firesteel
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Firesteel is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firesteel
    • Gem
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Gem is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gem
    • Paynesville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Paynesville is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
    • Agate
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Agate is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agate
    • Bruce Crossing
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Alston ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alston.

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 Alston - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Alston covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Alston Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • St. Henrys Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Henrys Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Henrys Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Nisula.
    • The St. Henrys Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Nisula Lutheran Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2273104 <2>
  • Pelkie Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Elo Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Woodland Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Rousseau Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Askel Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Keweenaw Bay Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Baraga Village Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Assinins Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Kargi Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • L'Anse Twp. Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (41 more) ...
    • Methodist Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Covington Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Maple Grove Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)

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 Alston in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Alston.

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

  • Pori
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Pori is located in Houghton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pori
  • Baraga
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • L'Anse
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Greenland
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Pequaming
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Pequaming is located in Baraga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pequaming
  • Sidnaw
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Kenton
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Kenton is located in Houghton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenton
  • Chassell
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Rockland
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Vermilac
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Vermilac is located in Baraga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermilac
  • Trout Creek
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Atlantic Mine
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Atlantic Mine is located in Houghton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlantic Mine
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • Paynesville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Paynesville is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
    • Bruce Crossing
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Houghton
      (25 miles [40.2 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 Alston. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alston.

Newspapers Published in Alston ...

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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alston.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alston, 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 Alston.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Alston:

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 Alston, 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 from Point A (ie- Alston) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.