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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 Arbutus Beach (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 Arbutus Beach. 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.

Name Variations for Arbutus Beach ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Arbutus Beach: Arbutus Bch.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 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.

Arbutus Beach is located in Otsego 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 Otsego County: Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Kalkaska, Montmorency & Oscoda.

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

  • Otsego County     (The home county of Arbutus Beach)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arbutus Beach, with the one closest to Arbutus Beach listed first.
    • Pearll City
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pearll City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearll City
      • Pearll City is located in Otsego County
    • Waters
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Gaylord
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Lower Chub Landing ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Sparr
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Hallock
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hallock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallock
      • Hallock is located in Otsego County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hallock
      • From Arbutus Beach to Hallock
    • Johannesburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johannesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johannesburg
      • Johannesburg is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johannesburg <3>
    • Elmira
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmira have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
      • Elmira is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elmira <3>
    • Berryville ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Vanderbilt
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Hetherton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Green Timbers
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Antrim County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arbutus Beach, with the one closest to Arbutus Beach listed first.
    • Alba
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Wetzel ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wetzel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wetzel
      • Wetzel is located in Antrim County
      • Wetzel has also been known as:
      • Wetzell
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wetzel
      • From Arbutus Beach to Wetzel
    • Mancelona
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mancelona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mancelona
      • Mancelona is located in Antrim County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,375 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mancelona <3>
    • Finkton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Bellaire
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Clam Lake ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Alden
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Central Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Central Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Lake
      • Central Lake is located in Antrim County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 942 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Central Lake <3>
  • Charlevoix County
  • Cheboygan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arbutus Beach, with the one closest to Arbutus Beach listed first.
    • Wolverine
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolverine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolverine
      • Wolverine is located in Cheboygan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 234 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wolverine <3>
    • Wildwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wildwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
      • Wildwood is located in Cheboygan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wildwood
      • From Arbutus Beach to Wildwood
  • Crawford County
  • Kalkaska County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arbutus Beach, with the one closest to Arbutus Beach listed first.
    • Westwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Westwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
      • Westwood is located in Kalkaska County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Westwood
      • From Arbutus Beach to Westwood
    • Angling
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Angling. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angling
      • Angling is located in Kalkaska County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Angling
      • From Arbutus Beach to Angling
    • Sigma
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sigma. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigma
      • Sigma is located in Kalkaska County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sigma
      • From Arbutus Beach to Sigma
    • Kalkaska
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kalkaska have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalkaska
      • Kalkaska is located in Kalkaska County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,083 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kalkaska <3>
    • Spencer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Spencer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer
      • Spencer is located in Kalkaska County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Spencer
      • From Arbutus Beach to Spencer
    • Fletcher
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fletcher. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
      • Fletcher is located in Kalkaska County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fletcher
      • From Arbutus Beach to Fletcher
    • Rapid City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rapid City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapid City
      • Rapid City is located in Kalkaska County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rapid City <3>
  • Montmorency County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arbutus Beach, with the one closest to Arbutus Beach listed first.
    • Vienna Corners
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vienna Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna Corners
      • Vienna Corners is located in Montmorency County
    • Lewiston
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Garland Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garland Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland Village
      • Garland Village is located in Montmorency County
    • Bigelow
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bigelow. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
      • Bigelow is located in Montmorency County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bigelow
      • From Arbutus Beach to Bigelow
    • Big Rock ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Big Rock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
      • Big Rock is located in Montmorency County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Big Rock
      • From Arbutus Beach to Big Rock
    • Atlanta
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Canada Creek Ranch
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Oscoda County

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

Cemeteries Near Arbutus Beach ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Arbutus Beach.

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

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

  • Otsego Lake Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Otsego Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Otsego Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bagley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bagley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bagley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hayes Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hayes Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hayes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Hallock Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hallock Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hallock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Shrine Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shrine Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shrine Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maple Forest Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Forest Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Forest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Johannesburg Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Johannesburg Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Johannesburg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Resurrection Catholic Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Resurrection Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Resurrection Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Resurrection Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • St. Thomas Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Thomas Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Thomas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (80 more) ...
    • Oakwood Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakwood Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oakwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Maple Hill Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Maple Hill Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 Arbutus Beach in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Arbutus Beach.

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

  • Otsego Lake
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otsego Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otsego Lake
    • Otsego Lake is located in Otsego County
  • Waters
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Gaylord
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Frederic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Elmira
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmira have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
    • Elmira is located in Otsego County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elmira <3>
  • Vanderbilt
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Alba
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Hetherton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Wetzel ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wetzel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wetzel
    • Wetzel is located in Antrim County
    • Wetzel has also been known as:
    • Wetzell
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Wetzel
    • From Arbutus Beach to Wetzel
  • Mancelona
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mancelona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mancelona
    • Mancelona is located in Antrim County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,375 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mancelona <3>
  • Antrim
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Antrim have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antrim
    • Antrim is located in Antrim County
  • Grayling
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Boyne Falls
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Trowbridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trowbridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trowbridge
      • Trowbridge is located in Cheboygan County
    • Chestonia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chestonia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestonia
      • Chestonia is located in Antrim County

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

Newspapers Published in Arbutus Beach ...

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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Arbutus Beach.

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

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 Arbutus Beach:

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

The official website for Otsego County: www.otsego.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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 Arbutus Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Arbutus Beach) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Arbutus Beach. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.9445, Longitude: -84.6835       In this case, the coordinates for Arbutus Beach have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025