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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 Backus 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 Backus 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 Backus 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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Backus Beach: Backus 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 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.

Backus Beach is located in Alcona 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 Alcona County: Alpena, Iosco, Montmorency, Ogemaw & Oscoda.

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

  • Alcona County     (The home county of Backus Beach)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Backus Beach, with the one closest to Backus Beach listed first.
    • Hubbard Lake
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Hubbard Lake is located in Alcona County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbard Lake
    • Barton City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Lost Lake Woods
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Lost Lake Woods is located in Alcona County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Lake Woods
    • Spruce
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lincoln
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Gustin
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Gustin is located in Alcona County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gustin
    • Alcona
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Alcona is located in Alcona County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcona
    • Black River
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Mikado
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Curran
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Harrisville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Springport
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Springport is located in Alcona County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springport
    • Glennie
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Alpena County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Backus Beach, with the one closest to Backus Beach listed first.
    • Hubbard Lake
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Ossineke
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Herron
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Herron is located in Alpena County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herron
    • McHarg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • McHarg is located in Alpena County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McHarg
    • Alpena Junction
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Alpena Junction is located in Alpena County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpena Junction
    • Alpena
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Flanders
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Flanders is located in Alpena County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flanders
    • Lachine
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Long Rapids
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Long Rapids is located in Alpena County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Rapids
    • Cathro
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Cathro is located in Alpena County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cathro
  • Iosco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Backus Beach, with the one closest to Backus Beach listed first.
    • Lincoln Junction
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Lincoln Junction is located in Iosco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Junction
    • Sid Town
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Sid Town is located in Iosco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sid Town
    • Foote Site Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Foote Site Village is located in Iosco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foote Site Village
    • Wilber
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Wilber is located in Iosco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilber
    • Oscoda
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Au Sable
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Au Sable is located in Iosco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Au Sable
    • Long Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Hale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Montmorency County
    • Hillman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Ogemaw County
  • Oscoda County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Backus Beach, with the one closest to Backus Beach listed first.
    • McKinley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • McKinley is located in Oscoda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKinley
    • Fairview
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Kneeland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Kneeland is located in Oscoda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kneeland
    • Mio
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Backus Beach ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Backus 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.

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 Backus Beach - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Maple Ridge Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Ridge Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Maple Ridge Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the east of Barton City.
    • The Maple Ridge Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Barton City Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1008 <3>
  • Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Caledonia Twp. Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia Twp. Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Caledonia Twp. Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Spruce.
    • The Caledonia Twp. Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Pleasant View Cemetery
    • Spruce Cemetery
    • Spruce Presbyterian Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2290666 <3>
  • Flowers Grave
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flowers Grave
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Flowers Grave is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<2> to the west of Spruce.
  • Hubbard Lake Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Twin Lake Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lake Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Twin Lake Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Lincoln.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1766601 <3>
  • St. Catherine's Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Salem Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Joy Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Joy Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Joy Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<2> to the southwest of Alcona.
    • The Mt. Joy Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Alcona Cemetery
    • Haynes Twp. Cemetery
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Calvary Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the west of Black River.
    • The Calvary Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Black River Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #219 <3>
  • German Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Curran Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curran Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Curran Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the southeast of Curran.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #341 <3>
  • Continue List   (46 more) ...
    • Fullerton Family Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Sanborn Twp. Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • St. Matthew Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)

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.<4>

While we didn't find Backus Beach in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Backus Beach.

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

  • Hubbard Lake
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Gustin
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Gustin is located in Alcona County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gustin
  • Ossineke
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Alcona
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Alcona is located in Alcona County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcona
  • Black River
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Curran
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Mikado
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Greenbush
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Bryant
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Bryant is located in Alcona County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
  • Alpena
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Flanders
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Flanders is located in Alpena County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flanders
  • Fairview
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (9 more) ...
    • Wilber
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Wilber is located in Iosco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilber
    • Oscoda
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Long Rapids
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Long Rapids is located in Alpena County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Rapids

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

Newspapers Published in Backus 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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Backus Beach.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Backus Beach, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Backus Beach.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Backus Beach:

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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Backus Beach) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Backus Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.