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 Alton (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 Alton. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Alton is located in Delta 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 Delta County: Alger, Marquette, Menominee & Schoolcraft.
Below are the counties that are near Alton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Alton:
- Delta County (The home county of Alton)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
- Garth
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Garth is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garth
- Ogontz
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Ogontz is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogontz
- Rapid River
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Jacques
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Saint Jacques is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Jacques
- Kipling
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Kipling is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kipling
- Maplewood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Maplewood is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
- Gladstone
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Chaison
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Chaison is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaison
- Brampton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Brampton is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brampton
- Nahma
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Larch
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Larch is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larch
- Lambert
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Lambert is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert
- Groos
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Groos is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groos
- Alger County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
- Trenary
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Diffin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Diffin is located in Alger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diffin
- Traunik
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Marquette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
- McFarland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- McFarland is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McFarland
- McFarland has also been known as:
- McFarlands
- Watson ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Watson is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
- Helena
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Helena is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
- Menominee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
- Perronville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Perronville is located in Menominee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perronville
- Harris
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Indiantown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Indiantown is located in Menominee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indiantown
- Indiantown has also been known as:
- Indian Town
- Dryads ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Dryads is located in Menominee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dryads
- LaBranche
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- LaBranche is located in Menominee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaBranche
- Wilson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wilson is located in Menominee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Schoolcraft County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
- Cooks
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Elkhorn
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Elkhorn is located in Schoolcraft County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
- Minor Beach
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Minor Beach is located in Schoolcraft County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor Beach
- Copenhagen Beach
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Copenhagen Beach is located in Schoolcraft County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copenhagen Beach
- Steuben
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Steuben is located in Schoolcraft County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Alton, see our County-by-County Page for Alton.
Cemeteries Near Alton ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alton.
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 Alton - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Alton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
- McLeod Grave
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rapid River Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Garth Point Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Johnston Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Ogontz Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Bay de Noc Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- St. Jacques' Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Fernwood Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Indian Point Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Lakewood Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Indian Town Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Flat Rock Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (44 more) ...
- Nahma Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Perkins Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Garden of Rest Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Alton in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Alton.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
- Ensign
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Ensign is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ensign
- Ogontz
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Ogontz is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogontz
- Rapid River
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Masonville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Masonville is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masonville
- Kipling
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Kipling is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kipling
- Gladstone
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- West Gladstone
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- West Gladstone is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Gladstone
- Brampton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Brampton is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brampton
- Nahma
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- North Escanaba
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- North Escanaba is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Escanaba
- Wells
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wells is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
- Perkins
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Perkins is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkins
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Escanaba
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Beaver
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Beaver is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
- Isabella
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Isabella is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Alton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alton.
Newspapers Published in Alton ...
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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alton.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alton, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alton.
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 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 Alton:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Delta County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alger County
- Marquette County
- Menominee County
- Schoolcraft 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> | 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 Alton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Alton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |