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 Bennington (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 Bennington. 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 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 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.
Bennington is located in Shiawassee 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 Shiawassee County: Clinton, Genesee, Gratiot, Ingham, Livingston & Saginaw.
Below are the counties that are near Bennington. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bennington:
- Shiawassee County (The home county of Bennington)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bennington, with the one closest to Bennington listed first.
- Five Points
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Five Points is located in Shiawassee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Owosso
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Burton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Burton is located in Shiawassee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burton
- Smith Crossing
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Smith Crossing is located in Shiawassee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Crossing
- Middletown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Middletown is located in Shiawassee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Laingsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Corunna
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Perry
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Morrice
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Newburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Newburg is located in Shiawassee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
- Shaftsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Shaftsburg is located in Shiawassee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaftsburg
- Bancroft
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Henderson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bennington, with the one closest to Bennington listed first.
- Ovid
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Shepardsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Shepardsville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shepardsville
- Elsie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Price
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Price is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price
- Duplain
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Duplain is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duplain
- Bath
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Gunnisonville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gunnisonville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunnisonville
- East DeWitt
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- East DeWitt is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East DeWitt
- Saint Johns
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Eureka
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Eureka is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Clinton Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Clinton Village is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton Village
- De Witt
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Fowler
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Eaton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bennington, with the one closest to Bennington listed first.
- Waverly
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Waverly is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
- Millett
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Millett is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millett
- Millett has also been known as:
- Milletts
- Dimondale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Grand Ledge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- West Windsor
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- West Windsor is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Windsor
- Genesee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bennington, with the one closest to Bennington listed first.
- Duffield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Duffield is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffield
- Gaines
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Swartz Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Brent Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Brent Creek is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brent Creek
- Flushing
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Argentine
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Argentine is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argentine
- Linden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Montrose
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bayport Park
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Bayport Park is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayport Park
- Lake Fenton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Lake Fenton is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Fenton
- Lakeside
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Lakeside is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
- Fenton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Flint
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Gratiot County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bennington, with the one closest to Bennington listed first.
- Bannister
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ashley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pompeii
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Sickles
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sickles is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sickles
- Edgewood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Edgewood is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
- North Star
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- North Star is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Star
- North Star has also been known as:
- Northstar
- Perrinton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Perrinton is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrinton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 391 people
- Middleton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ithaca
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bennington, with the one closest to Bennington listed first.
- Haslett
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Williamston
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Okemos
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Meridian
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Meridian is located in Ingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
- Webberville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- East Lansing
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- North Lansing
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- North Lansing is located in Ingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lansing
- Lansing
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pollok ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Pollok is located in Ingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pollok
- Pollok has also been known as:
- Pollock
- Edgemont Park
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Edgemont Park is located in Ingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgemont Park
- Holt
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dansville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Mason
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Ionia County
- Pewamo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Livingston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bennington, with the one closest to Bennington listed first.
- Cohoctah
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cohoctah is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cohoctah
- Deer Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Deer Creek is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Creek
- Fowlerville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Grove is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Parkers Corners
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Parkers Corners is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkers Corners
- Howell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Parshallville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Parshallville is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parshallville
- Tyrone
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Tyrone is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
- Saginaw County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bennington, with the one closest to Bennington listed first.
- Chapin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Chapin is located in Saginaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapin
- Oakley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Fenmore
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Fenmore is located in Saginaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenmore
- Chesaning
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Layton Corners
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Layton Corners is located in Saginaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Layton Corners
- Brant
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Luce ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Luce is located in Saginaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luce
- Saint Charles
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Burt
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Nelson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Nelson is located in Saginaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
- Lakefield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Lakefield is located in Saginaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakefield
- Taymouth
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Taymouth is located in Saginaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taymouth
- Garfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Garfield is located in Saginaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bennington, see our County-by-County Page for Bennington.
Cemeteries Near Bennington ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bennington.
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 Bennington - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bennington covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bennington, with the one closest to Bennington listed first.
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Alton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Maple River Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hillcrest Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- St. Paul Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Putnam Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Laingsburg Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Howard Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (274 more) ...
- Shiawassee County Poor Farm Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Middlebury Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Bennington had a population of 125 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bennington, with the one closest to Bennington listed first.
- Pittsburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Pittsburg is located in Shiawassee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
- Burton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Burton is located in Shiawassee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burton
- Owosso
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Laingsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Perry
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Morrice
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Corunna
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ovid
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Shaftsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Shaftsburg is located in Shiawassee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaftsburg
- Carland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Carland is located in Shiawassee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carland
- Bancroft
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Kerby
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Kerby is located in Shiawassee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerby
- Kerby has also been known as:
- Kerby Mine
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Vernon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Henderson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Shepardsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Shepardsville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shepardsville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bennington. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bennington.
Newspapers Published in Bennington ...
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 116 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bennington.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bennington, 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 Bennington.
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 Bennington:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Shiawassee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clinton County
- Eaton County
- Genesee County
- Gratiot County
- Ingham County
- Ionia County
- Livingston County
- Saginaw 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 Bennington, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bennington) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |