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 Bethel (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 Bethel. 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 and hospitals 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.
Bethel is located in Branch 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 Branch County: LaGrange (IN), Steuben (IN), Calhoun, Hillsdale & Saint Joseph.
Below are the counties that are near Bethel. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bethel:
- Branch County (The home county of Bethel)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Hatmaker
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hatmaker is also located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- Gilead
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gilead is also located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Canada Shores
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Canada Shores is also located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Shores
- Batavia
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Batavia is also located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Bronson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Coldwater
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Trailtree Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Trailtree Village is also located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailtree Village
- Matteson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Matteson is also located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matteson
- Fisher
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Fisher is also located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
- Ray
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hodunk
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Hodunk is also located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodunk
- Quincy
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Burlington
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Burlington is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 277 people
- Tekonsha
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Athens
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- East Leroy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- East Leroy is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Leroy
- Joppa
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Joppa is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa
- Homer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sonoma
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Sonoma is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonoma
- West Leroy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- West Leroy is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leroy
- Beadle Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Beadle Lake is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beadle Lake
- Ceresco
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Ceresco is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceresco
- Marshall
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Hillsdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Montgomery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Montgomery is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
- Reading
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Camden
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Allen
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Litchfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hillsdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Steamburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Steamburg is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steamburg
- Jonesville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Frontier
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Frontier is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frontier
- Mosherville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mosherville is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosherville
- Osseo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Shadyside
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Shadyside is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadyside
- Kalamazoo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Fulton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Fulton is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Scotts
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Vicksburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Joseph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Burr Oak
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Fawn River
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Fawn River is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn River
- Colon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Colon is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,155 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colon <1>
- Findley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Findley is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Findley
- Fairfax
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fairfax is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax
- Sturgis
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Factoryville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Factoryville is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Factoryville
- Leonidas
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Nottawa
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Wasepi
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Wasepi is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasepi
- Bluff Beach
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Bluff Beach is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Beach
- Klingers
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Klingers is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klingers
- DeKalb County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Ashley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Fairfield Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Fairfield Center is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Center
- Former name for Fairfield Center:
- Fairfield Centre
- Corunna
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Corunna is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Waterloo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Butler
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Moore
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Moore is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore
- LaGrange County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Greenfield Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- Brighton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Brighton is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Mongo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Brushy Prairie
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Brushy Prairie is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Prairie
- Stroh
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Stroh is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroh
- Plato
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Plato is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato
- Howe
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Gravel Beach
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Gravel Beach is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Beach
- LaGrange
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- South Milford
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- South Milford is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Milford
- Valentine
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- Seyberts
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Seyberts is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyberts
- Noble County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Wakeville Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Wakeville Village is located in Noble County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakeville Village
- Rome City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Kendallville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Steuben County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Jamestown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jamestown is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Orland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fremont
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ray
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ray is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Angola
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Clear Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Clear Lake is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- York
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- York is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Pleasant Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Hudson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Russels Point
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Russels Point is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russels Point
- Alvarado
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Alvarado is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- Hamilton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Hamilton is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,595 people
- Williams County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Columbia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Columbia is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia
- Cooney
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cooney is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooney
- Northwest
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Northwest is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwest
- Ainger
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ainger is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ainger
- Edon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- 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>
- Blakeslee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jim Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jim Town is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jim Town
- Pioneer
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Denmark ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Denmark was located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Montpelier
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bethel, see our County-by-County Page for Bethel.
Cemeteries Near Bethel ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bethel.
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 Bethel - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bethel covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Card Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Ammerman Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- East Gilead Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Sorter Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Lockwood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Gilead Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Knauss Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lawrence Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Snow Prairie Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hooping Corner Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Wilson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- York Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (321 more) ...
- Curtis Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Batavia Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jamestown Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Bethel had a population of 75 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Hatmaker
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hatmaker is also located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- East Gilead
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- East Gilead is also located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gilead
- Gilead
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gilead is also located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Batavia
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Batavia is also located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Bronson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Nevada Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Nevada Mills is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevada Mills
- Orland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Coldwater
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Greenfield Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- Inverness
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Inverness is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Algansee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Algansee is also located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algansee
- Matteson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Matteson is also located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matteson
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- California
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- California is also located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California
- Ray
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ray is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Flint
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Flint is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bethel. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bethel.
Newspapers Published in Bethel ...
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 153 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bethel.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bethel, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bethel.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Bethel:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Branch County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Hillsdale County
- Kalamazoo County
- Saint Joseph County
- DeKalb County
- LaGrange County
- Noble County
- Steuben 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> | 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 Bethel, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 from Point A (ie- Bethel) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |