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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 Arenac (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 Arenac. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Arenac is located in Arenac 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 Arenac County: Bay, Gladwin, Iosco & Ogemaw.

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

  • Arenac County     (The home county of Arenac)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arenac, with the one closest to Arenac listed first.
    • Pine River
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pine River. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine River
      • Pine River is located in Arenac County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pine River
      • From Arenac to Pine River
    • Omer
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Omer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omer
      • Omer is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
    • Whites Beach
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Saganing
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Standish
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Standish have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standish
      • Standish is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,388 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Standish <3>
    • Twining
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twining have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twining
      • Twining is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
    • Au Gres
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Sterling
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sterling have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
      • Sterling is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sterling <3>
    • Maple Ridge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Maple Ridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Ridge
      • Maple Ridge is located in Arenac County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Maple Ridge
      • From Arenac to Maple Ridge
    • Turner
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • 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 Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
    • Melita
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Melita. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melita
      • Melita is located in Arenac County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Melita
      • From Arenac to Melita
    • Harmon City Heights
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harmon City Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmon City Heights
      • Harmon City Heights is located in Arenac County
  • Bay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arenac, with the one closest to Arenac listed first.
    • Pinconning
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinconning have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinconning
      • Pinconning is located in Bay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pinconning <3>
    • Woodville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Woodville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
      • Woodville is located in Bay County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Woodville
      • From Arenac to Woodville
    • Nine Mile
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Bentley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bentley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bentley
      • Bentley is located in Bay County
    • Mount Forest
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Linwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Brissette Beach
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Kawkawlin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Wenona Beach ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Duel
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Seidlers
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Banks ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Banks. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks
      • Banks is located in Bay County
      • Banks has also been known as:
      • Bangor
      • Bank City
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Banks
      • From Arenac to Banks
    • Willard
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Gladwin County
  • Huron County
  • Iosco County
  • Midland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arenac, with the one closest to Arenac listed first.
    • Edenville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edenville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edenville
      • Edenville is located in Midland County
    • Hope
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
      • Hope is located in Midland County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hope <3>
  • Ogemaw County
  • Tuscola County

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

Cemeteries Near Arenac ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Arenac.

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

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

  • Arenac Twp. Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Arenac Twp. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Arenac Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pine River Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Edwards Catholic Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Edwards Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Edwards Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodmere Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodmere Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodmere Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Resurrection of the Lord Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Resurrection of the Lord Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Resurrection of the Lord Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Joseph's Polish National Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph's Polish National Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph's Polish National Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Indian Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Saganing Indian Methodist Mission Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Saganing Indian Methodist Mission Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Saganing Indian Methodist Mission Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Plains Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Plains Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Plains Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Indian Burial Ground
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Burial Ground
    • 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.
  • Continue List   (111 more) ...
    • Linwood Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Clayton Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clayton Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clayton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. George Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. George Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. George Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Arenac had a population of 130 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Omer
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Omer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omer
    • Omer is located in Arenac County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
  • Standish
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Standish have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standish
    • Standish is located in Arenac County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,388 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Standish <3>
  • Worth
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Worth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worth
    • Worth is located in Arenac County
  • Au Gres
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Sterling
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sterling have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
    • Sterling is located in Arenac County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sterling <3>
  • Maple Ridge
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Maple Ridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Ridge
    • Maple Ridge is located in Arenac County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Maple Ridge
    • From Arenac to Maple Ridge
  • Melita
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Melita. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melita
    • Melita is located in Arenac County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Melita
    • From Arenac to Melita
  • Pinconning
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinconning have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinconning
    • Pinconning is located in Bay County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pinconning <3>
  • Nine Mile
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Prescott
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Mount Forest
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Whittemore
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whittemore have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittemore
    • Whittemore is located in Iosco County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 375 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whittemore <3>
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Alger
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alger have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alger
      • Alger is located in Arenac County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alger <3>
    • Rhodes
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • McIvor
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McIvor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIvor
      • McIvor is located in Iosco County

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

Newspapers Published in Arenac ...

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 78 newspapers that have been published in the area around Arenac.

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

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 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 Arenac:

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

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>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 Arenac, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Arenac) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Arenac. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.0057, Longitude: -83.8580       In this case, the coordinates for Arenac have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025