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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 Askel (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 Askel. 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 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 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.

Askel 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 Askel. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Askel:

  • Houghton County     (The home county of Askel)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Askel, with the one closest to Askel listed first.
    • Elo
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Elo is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elo
    • Portage Entry
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Portage Entry is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage Entry
    • Chassell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jacobsville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jacobsville is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacobsville
    • White City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • White City is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Hazel
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Hazel is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel
    • Champion Mine
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Champion Mine is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champion Mine
    • Painesdale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Painesdale is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Painesdale
    • Toivola
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Baltic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Baltic is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltic
    • South Range
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Dodgeville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Dodgeville is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
  • Baraga County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Askel, with the one closest to Askel listed first.
    • Keweenaw Bay
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Keweenaw Bay is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keweenaw Bay
    • Bear Town
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Bear Town is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Town
    • Pelkie
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Pequaming
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Pequaming is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pequaming
    • Baraga
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • L'Anse
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Skanee
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Alberta
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Alberta is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
    • Covington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Watton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Vermilac
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Vermilac is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermilac
    • Nestoria
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Nestoria is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nestoria
  • Keweenaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Askel, with the one closest to Askel listed first.
    • Allouez
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Snowshoe
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Snowshoe is located in Keweenaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowshoe
    • Traverse
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Traverse is located in Keweenaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Traverse
    • Ahmeek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Fulton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Fulton is located in Keweenaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
    • Mohawk
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Gay
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Gay is located in Keweenaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gay
  • Ontonagon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Askel, with the one closest to Askel listed first.
    • Rousseau
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Rousseau is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rousseau
    • Wasas
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Wasas is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasas
    • Wainola
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Wainola is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wainola
    • Greenland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Mass City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Firesteel
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Firesteel is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firesteel
    • Rockland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Askel ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Askel.

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

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

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

  • Askel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Kargi Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Elo Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Keweenaw Bay Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Assinins Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Pelkie Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Baraga Village Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Pequaming Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Chassell Twp. Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Jacobsville Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Alston Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • L'Anse Twp. Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (36 more) ...
    • Pinery Indian Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Aura Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • St. Henrys Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>

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

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

  • Pequaming
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Pequaming is located in Baraga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pequaming
  • Baraga
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Chassell
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • L'Anse
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Atlantic Mine
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Atlantic Mine is located in Houghton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlantic Mine
  • Hancock
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Dollar Bay
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Ripley
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Ripley is located in Houghton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
  • Houghton
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Skanee
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Boston
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Boston is located in Houghton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boston
  • Oskar
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Oskar is located in Houghton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oskar
  • Continue List   (10 more) ...
    • Lake Linden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Pori
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Pori is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pori
    • Osceola
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Osceola is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola

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

Newspapers Published in Askel ...

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 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around Askel.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Askel, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Askel.

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 Askel:

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 Askel, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Askel) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.