RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Michigan >> Benzie County >> Beulah >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Beulah (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 Beulah. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Beulah is located in Benzie County and is the County Seat.

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 Benzie County: Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Manistee & Wexford.

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

  • Benzie County     (The home county of Beulah)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beulah, with the one closest to Beulah listed first.
    • Benzonia
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Honor
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Elberta
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Frankfort
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Platte River
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Platte River is located in Benzie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte River
    • Aral ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Aral is located in Benzie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aral
      • Aral has also been known as:
      • Otter Creek
    • Wallin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Wallin is located in Benzie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallin
    • Thompsonville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bendon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Bendon is located in Benzie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bendon
    • Lake Ann
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Nessen City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Nessen City is located in Benzie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nessen City
    • Griner Station
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Griner Station is located in Benzie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griner Station
      • Griner Station has also been known as:
      • Print
  • Grand Traverse County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beulah, with the one closest to Beulah listed first.
    • Karlin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Karlin is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karlin
    • Interlochen
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Pavlovic Corner
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Pavlovic Corner is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavlovic Corner
    • Grawn
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Traverse City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Kingsley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Kingsley is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,618 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kingsley <1>
    • Mayfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Mayfield is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
    • Summit City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Summit City is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit City
    • Acme
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Devils Elbow
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Devils Elbow is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devils Elbow
  • Leelanau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beulah, with the one closest to Beulah listed first.
    • Jacktown ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jacktown is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacktown
      • Jacktown has also been known as:
      • Osborn
    • Empire
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Burdickville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Burdickville is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdickville
    • Glen Arbor
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Glen Haven ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Glen Haven is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Haven
    • Maple City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Solon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Solon is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solon
    • Cedar
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Shalda Corners ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Shalda Corners is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shalda Corners
    • Port Oneida ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Port Oneida is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Oneida
    • Isadore ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Isadore is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isadore
    • Bodus
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Bodus is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bodus
  • Manistee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beulah, with the one closest to Beulah listed first.
    • Malcolm
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Malcolm is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malcolm
    • Humphrey
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Humphrey is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humphrey
    • Henry ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Henry is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
    • Arcadia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Copemish
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Bear Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Pomona
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Pomona is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
    • Kaleva
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Onekama
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Harlan ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Harlan is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan
    • Chief Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Chief Lake is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chief Lake
    • Norwalk
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Norwalk is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
  • Wexford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beulah, with the one closest to Beulah listed first.
    • Bagnall
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Bagnall is located in Wexford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagnall
    • Buckley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Glengary
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Glengary is located in Wexford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glengary
    • Mesick
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Sherman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Sherman is located in Wexford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman
    • Yuma
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Yuma is located in Wexford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuma
    • Baxter
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Baxter is located in Wexford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
    • Harrietta
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Beulah ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Beulah.

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 Beulah - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Benzonia Twp. Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Champion Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Homestead Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Gilmore Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Joyfield Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joyfield Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Joyfield Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<3> to the south of Benzonia.
    • The Joyfield Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Joyfield Twp. Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #821 <2>
  • Weldon Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Blaine Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Crystal Lake Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Brundage Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Platte Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (99 more) ...
    • Pilgrim Home Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Pleasonton Twp. Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Springdale Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 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.<4>

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

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

  • Benzonia
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Weldon
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Weldon is located in Benzie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weldon
  • Edgewater
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Edgewater is located in Benzie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater
  • Frankfort
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Pleasanton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Pleasanton is located in Manistee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasanton
  • Thompsonville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Arcadia
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Bendon
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Bendon is located in Benzie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bendon
  • Empire
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Copemish
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Nessen City
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Nessen City is located in Benzie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nessen City
  • Lake Ann
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Bear Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Pierport
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Pierport is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierport
    • Pomona
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Pomona is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Beulah ...

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 57 newspapers that have been published in the area around Beulah.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Beulah. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Beulah and those printed in the larger area surrounding Beulah.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3> of Beulah.

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 Beulah:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Beulah) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Beulah, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.