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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 Bangor (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 Bangor. 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 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.

Bangor is located in Van Buren 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 Van Buren County: Allegan, Berrien, Cass, Kalamazoo & Saint Joseph.

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

  • Van Buren County     (The home county of Bangor)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bangor, with the one closest to Bangor listed first.
    • Breedsville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bloomingdale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Grand Junction
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Glendale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
      • Glendale is located in Van Buren County
    • Lacota
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacota
      • Lacota is located in Van Buren County
    • Hartford
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Lawrence
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Covert
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Kibbie
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibbie
      • Kibbie is located in Van Buren County
    • South Haven
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Fish Corners
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Corners
      • Fish Corners is located in Van Buren County
    • Gobles
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Allegan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bangor, with the one closest to Bangor listed first.
    • Leisure
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure
      • Leisure is located in Allegan County
      • Leisure has also been known as:
      • East Casco
    • Pullman
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pullman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pullman
      • Pullman is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pullman <1>
    • Hawkhead
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkhead
      • Hawkhead is located in Allegan County
    • South Haven Highlands
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Miami Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miami Park
      • Miami Park is located in Allegan County
      • Miami Park has also been known as:
      • Miami Park Beach
      • Miomi Park Beach
    • Mount Pleasant
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Allegan County
    • Spring Grove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
      • Spring Grove is located in Allegan County
    • Cedar Bluff
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Bluff
      • Cedar Bluff is located in Allegan County
    • Glenn Haven Shores
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Haven Shores
      • Glenn Haven Shores is located in Allegan County
      • Glenn Haven Shores has also been known as:
      • Hollywood
    • Glenn Shores
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Shores
      • Glenn Shores is located in Allegan County
      • Glenn Shores has also been known as:
      • Glenn Stores
    • Glenn
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Ganges
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ganges
      • Ganges is located in Allegan County
  • Barry County
    • Doster
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doster have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doster
      • Doster is located in Barry County
  • Berrien County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bangor, with the one closest to Bangor listed first.
    • Paw Paw Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paw Paw Lake
      • Paw Paw Lake is located in Berrien County
    • Watervliet
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Coloma
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coloma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
      • Coloma is located in Berrien County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,402 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coloma <1>
    • Lake Michigan Beach
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Michigan Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Michigan Beach
      • Lake Michigan Beach is located in Berrien County
    • Riverside
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverside have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
      • Riverside is located in Berrien County
    • Benton Heights
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benton Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton Heights
      • Benton Heights is located in Berrien County
    • Mizpah Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mizpah Park
      • Mizpah Park is located in Berrien County
    • Benton Harbor
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Shanghai Corners
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanghai Corners
      • Shanghai Corners is located in Berrien County
    • Sodus
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sodus have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sodus
      • Sodus is located in Berrien County
    • Fair Plain
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fair Plain have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Plain
      • Fair Plain is located in Berrien County
    • Hartman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartman
      • Hartman is located in Berrien County
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bangor, with the one closest to Bangor listed first.
    • Dowagiac
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • La Grange
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Grange
      • La Grange is located in Cass County
    • Marcellus
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Wakelee
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wakelee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakelee
      • Wakelee is located in Cass County
    • Penn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn
      • Penn is located in Cass County
    • Pokagon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pokagon
      • Pokagon is located in Cass County
    • Cassopolis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cassopolis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassopolis
      • Cassopolis is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,698 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cassopolis <1>
    • Sumnerville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumnerville
      • Sumnerville is located in Cass County
    • Vandalia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vandalia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
      • Vandalia is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
  • Kalamazoo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bangor, with the one closest to Bangor listed first.
    • Alamo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamo
      • Alamo is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Oshtemo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oshtemo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oshtemo
      • Oshtemo is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oshtemo <1>
    • Westwood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
      • Westwood is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Kalamazoo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Parchment
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parchment have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parchment
      • Parchment is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,825 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parchment <1>
    • Portage
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Schoolcraft
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Eastwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eastwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastwood
      • Eastwood is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Milwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milwood
      • Milwood is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Comstock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Comstock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
      • Comstock is located in Kalamazoo County
  • Saint Joseph County
    • Chamberlain
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamberlain
      • Chamberlain is located in Saint Joseph County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bangor ...

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 102 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bangor.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Bangor. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Bangor and those printed in the larger area surrounding Bangor.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3> of Bangor.

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 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 Bangor:

Cemeteries Near Bangor ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bangor.

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

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

  • Arlington Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Taylor Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Taylor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Taylor Cemetery
  • Hoppin Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hoppin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hoppin Cemetery
  • Monk Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Monk Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Monk Cemetery
  • Southard Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Southard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Southard Cemetery
  • Coburn Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Coburn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Coburn Cemetery
  • Breedsville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Breedsville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Breedsville Cemetery
  • Thomas Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Van Auken Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Van Auken Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Van Auken Cemetery
  • Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hill Cemetery
  • Hicks Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hicks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hicks Cemetery
  • Grand Junction Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grand Junction Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grand Junction Cemetery
  • Continue List   (221 more) ...
    • Sacred Heart Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sacred Heart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sacred Heart Cemetery
    • Rush Lake Catholic Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rush Lake Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rush Lake Catholic Cemetery
    • Lawrence Village Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lawrence Village Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lawrence Village Cemetery

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 Bangor had a population of 904 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Bangor had a population of 1,808 people.

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

  • Breedsville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • McDonald
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McDonald have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDonald
    • McDonald is located in Van Buren County
  • Toquin
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toquin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toquin
    • Toquin is located in Van Buren County
  • Bloomingdale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Grand Junction
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Hartford
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Lawrence
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Glendale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
    • Glendale is located in Van Buren County
  • Lacota
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacota
    • Lacota is located in Van Buren County
  • Covert
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Kibbie
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibbie
    • Kibbie is located in Van Buren County
  • Berlamont
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Berlamont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlamont
    • Berlamont is located in Van Buren County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Lee
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
      • Lee is located in Allegan County
    • South Haven
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Watervliet
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)

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

The official website for Bangor: www.ci.bangor.mi.us/

The official website for Van Buren County: www.vbco.org/

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

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 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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bangor) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bangor. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3134, Longitude: -86.1123    
<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 Bangor, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024