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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 Belle River (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 Belle River. 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 Belle River ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Belle River: Belle Riv.

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.

Belle River is located in Saint Clair 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 Saint Clair County: Lapeer, Macomb & Sanilac.

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

  • Saint Clair County     (The home county of Belle River)
  • Lapeer County
  • Macomb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belle River, with the one closest to Belle River listed first.
    • Muttonville ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Bates Corner ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Coopertown ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Richmond
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Beebe's Corners ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Memphis
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Memphis have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memphis
      • Memphis is located in Macomb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,170 people
      • Former name for Memphis:
      • Well's Settlement
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Memphis <2>
    • New Haven
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Haven have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Haven
      • New Haven is located in Macomb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,061 people
      • Former names for New Haven:
      • New Baltimore Station
      • New Haven Station
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Haven <2>
    • Doyle ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Doyle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyle
      • Doyle is located in Macomb County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Doyle
      • From Belle River to Doyle
    • Berry's Corners ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • New Baltimore
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Omo ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Omo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omo
      • Omo is located in Macomb County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Omo
      • From Belle River to Omo
    • Armada
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Heart ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Heart. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heart
      • Heart is located in Macomb County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Heart
      • From Belle River to Heart
  • Oakland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belle River, with the one closest to Belle River listed first.
    • Stony Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Yates
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Yates. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates
      • Yates is located in Oakland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Yates
      • From Belle River to Yates
    • Campbells Corner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Kline ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kline. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kline
      • Kline is located in Oakland County
      • Kline has also been known as:
      • Kline Settlement
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kline
      • From Belle River to Kline
    • Lakeville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Leonard
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Lake Orion Junction ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Rochester
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Goodison
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Goodison. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodison
      • Goodison is located in Oakland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Goodison
      • From Belle River to Goodison
    • Rochester Hills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Decker ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Decker. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decker
      • Decker is located in Oakland County
      • Decker has also been known as:
      • Decker Settlement
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Decker
      • From Belle River to Decker
    • Rudds Mill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Lake Orion
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Sanilac County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belle River, with the one closest to Belle River listed first.
    • Roseburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Roseburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseburg
      • Roseburg is located in Sanilac County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Roseburg
      • From Belle River to Roseburg
    • Amadore ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Melvin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Melvin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
      • Melvin is located in Sanilac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
    • Speaker
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Valley Center
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Lexington Heights
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Peck
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Wayne County

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

Cemeteries Near Belle River ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Belle River.

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

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

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.<7>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Belle River had a population of 100 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Richmond
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Adair
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Adair. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adair
    • Adair is located in Saint Clair County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Adair
    • From Belle River to Adair
  • Columbus
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Casco
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Casco have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casco
    • Casco is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Casco <2>
  • Rattle Run
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rattle Run have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rattle Run
    • Rattle Run is located in Saint Clair County
  • Memphis
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Memphis have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memphis
    • Memphis is located in Macomb County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,170 people
    • Former name for Memphis:
    • Well's Settlement
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Memphis <2>
  • New Haven
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Haven have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Haven
    • New Haven is located in Macomb County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,061 people
    • Former names for New Haven:
    • New Baltimore Station
    • New Haven Station
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Haven <2>
  • Lambs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Smiths Creek
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Doyle ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Doyle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyle
    • Doyle is located in Macomb County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Doyle
    • From Belle River to Doyle
  • New Baltimore
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Anchorville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Belle River ...

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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around Belle River.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Belle River, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Belle River.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Belle River:

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

The official website for Saint Clair County: www.stclaircounty.org/

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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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>To help visualize the location of the cemetery, we've drawn a straight line between the communities of Richmond and Marysville. The cemetery can be found near that line and roughly halfway between the two communities. Remember that this is just an approximate location.
<6>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- Belle River) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Belle River. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.8234, Longitude: -82.7008    
<7>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 Belle River, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025