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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 Big Bend (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 Big Bend. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Big Bend is located in Newaygo 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 Newaygo County: Kent, Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Oceana & Osceola.

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

  • Newaygo County     (The home county of Big Bend)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Bend, with the one closest to Big Bend listed first.
    • Riverview
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Riverview is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
    • Croton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Croton is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croton
    • White Cloud
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Ramona
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Ramona is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramona
    • Newaygo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Wooster
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Wooster is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooster
    • Sun
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Sun is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun
    • Brohman
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Brohman is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brohman
      • Former names for Brohman:
      • Dingman
      • Otia
    • Bishop
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Bishop is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
    • Grant
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Aetna
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Aetna is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aetna
    • Ashland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Ashland is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
    • Fremont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Fremont is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,102 people
      • Former name for Fremont:
      • Fremont Center
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fremont <1>
  • Isabella County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Bend, with the one closest to Big Bend listed first.
    • Blanchard
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Sherman City ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Sherman City is located in Isabella County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman City
    • Lake Isabella
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Lake Isabella is located in Isabella County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Isabella
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,688 people
      • Lake Isabella has also been known as:
      • Lake Isabella village
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Bend, with the one closest to Big Bend listed first.
    • Sand Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Cedar Springs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Kent City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Casnovia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Sheffield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Sheffield is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield
    • Harvard
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Harvard is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard
    • Edgerton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Edgerton is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
    • Sparta
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Lisbon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Lisbon is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
    • Rockford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Bend, with the one closest to Big Bend listed first.
    • Chase
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Nirvana
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Nirvana is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nirvana
    • Marlborough
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Marlborough is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlborough
    • Idlewild
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Idlewild is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idlewild
    • Baldwin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Mecosta County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Bend, with the one closest to Big Bend listed first.
    • Borland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Borland is located in Mecosta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borland
    • Morley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Stanwood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Rustford
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Rustford is located in Mecosta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rustford
    • Big Rapids
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Canadian Lakes
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Canadian Lakes is located in Mecosta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canadian Lakes
    • Rodney
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Halls Corner
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Halls Corner is located in Mecosta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halls Corner
    • Paris
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Mecosta
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Chippewa Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Remus
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Pogy
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Pogy is located in Mecosta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pogy
  • Montcalm County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Bend, with the one closest to Big Bend listed first.
    • Howard City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Amble
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Amble is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amble
    • Pierson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Coral
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lakeview
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Trufant
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Six Lakes
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Langston
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Langston is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langston
    • Gowen
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Entrican
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Entrican is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Entrican
    • Wyman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Wyman is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
    • Edmore
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Greenville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Muskegon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Bend, with the one closest to Big Bend listed first.
    • Bailey
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Brunswick
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Brunswick is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunswick
    • Canada Corners
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Canada Corners is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Corners
    • Slocum
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Slocum is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slocum
    • Holton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Morgan Corners
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Morgan Corners is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Corners
    • Ravenna
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Oceana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Bend, with the one closest to Big Bend listed first.
    • Hesperia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Walkerville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Osceola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Bend, with the one closest to Big Bend listed first.
    • Hersey
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Reed City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Evart
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Evart is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evart
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,886 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Evart <1>
  • Ottawa County
    • Wright
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Wright is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright

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

Cemeteries Near Big Bend ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Bend.

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 Big Bend - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • West Aetna Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Prairie Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Gulp Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Goodwell Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Big Prairie - Everett Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Aetna Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Croton Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Christian Plains Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Holt Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (210 more) ...
    • Amish Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Oak Grove Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • St. Apollonia Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)

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>

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

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

  • Big Prairie
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Big Prairie is located in Newaygo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Prairie
  • Croton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Croton is located in Newaygo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croton
  • Morley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Borland
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Borland is located in Mecosta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borland
  • Stanwood
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • White Cloud
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Howard City
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Woodville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Woodville is located in Newaygo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
  • Alleyton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Alleyton is located in Newaygo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alleyton
  • Amble
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Amble is located in Montcalm County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amble
  • Rustford
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Rustford is located in Mecosta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rustford
  • Big Rapids
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Newaygo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Altona
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Altona is located in Mecosta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altona
    • Pierson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Big Bend ...

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 119 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Bend.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Bend, 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 Big Bend.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Big Bend:

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 Big Bend, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Big Bend) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.