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 Austin (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 Austin. 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 doctors and 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.
Austin is located in Hillsdale 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 Hillsdale County: Steuben (IN), Branch, Calhoun, Jackson, Lenawee, Fulton (OH) & Williams (OH).
Below are the counties that are near Austin. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Austin:
- Hillsdale County (The home county of Austin)
- The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Camden
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Frontier
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Frontier is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frontier
- Montgomery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Montgomery is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
- Reading
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Ransom
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Ransom is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ransom
- Buckeye ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Buckeye is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
- Shadyside
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Shadyside is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadyside
- Steamburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Steamburg is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steamburg
- Lickly Corners
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Lickly Corners is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickly Corners
- Osseo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hillsdale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Pittsford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Branch County
- The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Ray
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Fisher
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fisher is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
- Canada Shores
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Canada Shores is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Shores
- Quincy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Trailtree Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Trailtree Village is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailtree Village
- Coldwater
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hatmaker
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hatmaker is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- Batavia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Batavia is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Gilead
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Gilead is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Girard
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Girard is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard
- Hodunk
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hodunk is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodunk
- Bronson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Homer
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Tekonsha
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Hanover
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Horton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Liberty
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Concord
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Lenawee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Munson
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Munson is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munson
- Hudson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Rollin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rollin is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollin
- Canandaigua
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Canandaigua is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canandaigua
- Morenci
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- North Morenci
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- North Morenci is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Morenci
- Addison
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Clayton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Clayton is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 328 people
- Addison Junction
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Addison Junction is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison Junction
- Manitou Beach
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Seneca
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Seneca is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
- Manitou Beach - Devils Lake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- DeKalb County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Butler
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Ashley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Moore
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Moore is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore
- Waterloo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fairfield Center
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fairfield Center is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Center
- LaGrange County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Greenfield Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- Stroh
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Stroh is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroh
- Brushy Prairie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Brushy Prairie is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Prairie
- Gravel Beach
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gravel Beach is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Beach
- Mongo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Steuben County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- York
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- York is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Clear Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Clear Lake is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Ray
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Ray is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Fremont
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Alvarado
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Alvarado is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- Jamestown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Jamestown is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Angola
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Russels Point
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Russels Point is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russels Point
- Hamilton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Hamilton is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,595 people
- Pleasant Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Hudson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Orland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Defiance County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Ney
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Ney is located in Defiance County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ney
- Population from the 2020 Census: 337 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ney <1>
- Hicksville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Fulton County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Fayette
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Ritters ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Ritters is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritters
- Burlington
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Burlington is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
- Powers ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Powers is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powers
- Powers has also been known as:
- Powers Station
- Thelma ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Thelma is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thelma
- Archbold
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Eckley ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Eckley is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eckley
- Eckley has also been known as:
- Eckley Station
- Inlet ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Inlet is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inlet
- Pettisville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pettisville is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettisville
- Denson ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Denson is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denson
- Oakshade
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Oakshade is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakshade
- Advance
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Advance is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advance
- Henry County (OH)
- Ridgeville Corners
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ridgeville Corners is located in Henry County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville Corners
- Williams County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Northwest
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Northwest is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwest
- Ainger
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Ainger is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ainger
- Cooney
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cooney is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooney
- Jim Town
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Jim Town is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jim Town
- Pioneer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Columbia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Columbia is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia
- Holiday City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Holiday City is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
- Montpelier
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kunkle
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Kunkle is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kunkle
- Edon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Edon is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 807 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edon <1>
- Alvordton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Blakeslee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Austin, see our County-by-County Page for Austin.
Cemeteries Near Austin ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Austin.
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 Austin - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Austin covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Amish Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Palmer Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Robinson Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- West Woodbridge Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Nettle Lake Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Osborn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hagaman Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cellars Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Sheldon Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Camden Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Gardner Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Devine Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Continue List (368 more) ...
- Pease Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Drake Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Alfred Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
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 Austin in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Austin.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Northwest
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Northwest is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwest
- Camden
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Nettle Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Nettle Lake is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettle Lake
- Frontier
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Frontier is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frontier
- Cooney
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cooney is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooney
- Ainger
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Ainger is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ainger
- Cambria
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Cambria is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambria
- Montgomery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Montgomery is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
- Reading
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Clear Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Clear Lake is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Pioneer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ransom
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Ransom is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ransom
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Ray
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Ray is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- California
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- California is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California
- Metz
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Metz is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metz
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Austin. See our List of 1890's Communities around Austin.
Newspapers Published in Austin ...
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 47 newspapers that have been published in the area around Austin.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Austin, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Austin.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Austin:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Hillsdale County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Branch County
- Calhoun County
- Jackson County
- Lenawee County
- DeKalb County
- LaGrange County
- Steuben County
- Defiance County
- Fulton County
- Henry County
- Williams 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> | 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 Austin, 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- Austin) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |