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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.

Alston is located in Houghton 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 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)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nisula
    • Nisula is located in Houghton County
  • Hazel
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hazel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel
    • Hazel is located in Houghton County
  • Elo
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elo
    • Elo is located in Houghton County
  • Lake Roland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Roland
    • Lake Roland is located in Houghton County
  • Toivola
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toivola
    • Toivola is located in Houghton County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Toivola <2>
  • Champion Mine
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champion Mine
    • Champion Mine is located in Houghton County
  • Sidnaw
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidnaw
    • Sidnaw is located in Houghton County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sidnaw <2>
  • Painesdale
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Painesdale
    • Painesdale is located in Houghton County
  • Chassell
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chassell have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chassell
    • Chassell is located in Houghton County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chassell <2>
  • Portage Entry
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage Entry
    • Portage Entry is located in Houghton County
  • Kenton
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenton
    • Kenton is located in Houghton County
  • Baltic
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltic
    • Baltic is located in Houghton County
• 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)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pelkie. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelkie
    • Pelkie is located in Baraga County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pelkie <2>
  • Bear Town
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bear Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Town
    • Bear Town is located in Baraga County
  • Baraga
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baraga
    • Baraga is located in Baraga County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,938 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Baraga <2>
  • L'Anse
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for L'Anse. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for L'Anse
    • L'Anse is located in Baraga County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,825 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for L'Anse <2>
  • Keweenaw Bay
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keweenaw Bay
    • Keweenaw Bay is located in Baraga County
  • Alberta
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
    • Alberta is located in Baraga County
  • Pequaming
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pequaming
    • Pequaming is located in Baraga County
  • Watton
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Watton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <2>
  • Covington
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Covington have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <2>
  • Skanee
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skanee have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skanee
    • Skanee is located in Baraga County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Skanee <2>
  • Nestoria
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nestoria
    • Nestoria is located in Baraga County
• 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)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rousseau
    • Rousseau is located in Ontonagon County
  • Wasas
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wasas. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasas
    • Wasas is located in Ontonagon County
  • Wainola
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wainola. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wainola
    • Wainola is located in Ontonagon County
  • Mass City
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mass City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <2>
  • Greenland
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
    • Greenland is located in Ontonagon County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenland <2>
  • Rockland
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <2>
  • Trout Creek
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trout Creek
    • Trout Creek is located in Ontonagon County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trout Creek <2>
  • Firesteel
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firesteel
    • Firesteel is located in Ontonagon County
  • Gem
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gem. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gem
    • Gem is located in Ontonagon County
  • Paynesville
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
    • Paynesville is located in Ontonagon County
  • Agate
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agate
    • Agate is located in Ontonagon County
  • Bruce Crossing
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruce Crossing
    • Bruce Crossing is located in Ontonagon County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bruce Crossing <2>

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.

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 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)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Alston Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Alston Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• St. Henrys Cemetery
  (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the 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 <4>
• Pelkie Cemetery
  (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pelkie Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pelkie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Elo Cemetery
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Elo Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Elo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Woodland Cemetery
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodland Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Rousseau Cemetery
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rousseau Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rousseau Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Askel Cemetery
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Askel Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Askel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Keweenaw Bay Cemetery
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Keweenaw Bay Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Keweenaw Bay Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Baraga Village Cemetery
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Baraga Village Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Baraga Village Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Assinins Cemetery
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Assinins Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Assinins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Kargi Cemetery
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kargi Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kargi Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• L'Anse Twp. Cemetery
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the L'Anse Twp. Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the L'Anse Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Continue List   (41 more) ...
  • Methodist Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Methodist Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Methodist Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Covington Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Covington Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Covington Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Grove 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.<5>

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)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pori have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pori
  • Pori is located in Houghton County
• Baraga
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baraga
  • Baraga is located in Baraga County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,938 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Baraga <2>
• L'Anse
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for L'Anse. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for L'Anse
  • L'Anse is located in Baraga County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,825 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for L'Anse <2>
• Greenland
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
  • Greenland is located in Ontonagon County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenland <2>
• Pequaming
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pequaming
  • Pequaming is located in Baraga County
• Sidnaw
  (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidnaw
  • Sidnaw is located in Houghton County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sidnaw <2>
• Kenton
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenton
  • Kenton is located in Houghton County
• Chassell
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chassell have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chassell
  • Chassell is located in Houghton County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chassell <2>
• Rockland
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <2>
• Vermilac
  (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vermilac have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermilac
  • Vermilac is located in Baraga County
• Trout Creek
  (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trout Creek
  • Trout Creek is located in Ontonagon County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trout Creek <2>
• Atlantic Mine
  (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atlantic Mine have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlantic Mine
  • Atlantic Mine is located in Houghton County
• Continue List   (11 more) ...
  • Paynesville
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
    • Paynesville is located in Ontonagon County
  • Bruce Crossing
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruce Crossing
    • Bruce Crossing is located in Ontonagon County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bruce Crossing <2>
  • Houghton
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houghton
    • Houghton is located in Houghton County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,540 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Houghton <2>

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]<6>. 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 begin 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 Alston:

• Websites specific to Michigan
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Website for the //www.michigan.gov/mhc/047267-282-61083---00.html

• Pages specific to Houghton County
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Genealogy information for nearby counties
  • Baraga County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Ontonagon County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Cemetery Information and Directories for Michigan
  • Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Michigan
  • Cyndi's List
  • Cemeteries of Michigan
  • Cemeteries of Houghton County
  • FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Michigan
  • Find-A-Grave: Home Page
  • Interment.net
  • Cemeteries of Michigan

Off-the-Road Links ...

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

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