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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 Prairie (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 Prairie. 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 Big Prairie ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Big Prairie: Big Pr.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Big Prairie. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Big Prairie.

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.

Big Prairie 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 Prairie. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Big Prairie:

  • Newaygo County     (The home county of Big Prairie)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Prairie, with the one closest to Big Prairie listed first.
    • Riverview
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Riverview is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
    • Croton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Croton is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croton
    • White Cloud
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Ramona
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Ramona is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramona
    • Newaygo
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Wooster
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Wooster is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooster
    • Brohman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Brohman is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brohman
      • Former names for Brohman:
      • Dingman
      • Otia
    • Sun
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Sun is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun
    • Bishop
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Bishop is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
    • Aetna
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Aetna is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aetna
    • Grant
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Ashland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Ashland is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
  • Isabella County
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Prairie, with the one closest to Big Prairie listed first.
    • Sand Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Casnovia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Cedar Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Kent City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Sheffield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Sheffield is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield
    • Edgerton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Edgerton is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
    • Sparta
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Harvard
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Harvard is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard
    • Lisbon
      (26 miles [41.8 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)
    • Belmont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Prairie, with the one closest to Big Prairie listed first.
    • Chase
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Marlborough
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Marlborough is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlborough
    • Idlewild
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Idlewild is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idlewild
    • Nirvana
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Nirvana is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nirvana
    • Baldwin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Mecosta County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Prairie, with the one closest to Big Prairie listed first.
    • Borland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Borland is located in Mecosta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borland
    • Morley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Stanwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Big Rapids
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Rustford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Rustford is located in Mecosta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rustford
    • Canadian Lakes
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Canadian Lakes is located in Mecosta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canadian Lakes
    • Paris
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Rodney
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Halls Corner
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Halls Corner is located in Mecosta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halls Corner
    • Mecosta
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Chippewa Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Pogy
      (24 miles [38.6 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 Prairie, with the one closest to Big Prairie listed first.
    • Howard City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Amble
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Amble is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amble
    • Pierson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Coral
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Lakeview
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Trufant
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Langston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Langston is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langston
    • Six Lakes
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Gowen
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Entrican
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Entrican is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Entrican
    • Wyman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Wyman is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
    • Greenville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Muskegon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Prairie, with the one closest to Big Prairie listed first.
    • Bailey
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Brunswick
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Brunswick is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunswick
    • Canada Corners
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Canada Corners is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Corners
    • Holton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Slocum
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Slocum is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slocum
    • Morgan Corners
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Morgan Corners is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Corners
    • Ravenna
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Twin Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Wolf Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Wolf Lake is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
    • Sullivan
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Sullivan is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
  • Oceana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Prairie, with the one closest to Big Prairie listed first.
    • Hesperia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Walkerville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Cobmoosa
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Cobmoosa is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobmoosa
      • Cobmoosa has also been known as:
      • Cob Moo Sa
    • Ferry
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Ferry is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferry
  • Osceola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Prairie, with the one closest to Big Prairie listed first.
    • Hersey
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Reed City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
  • Ottawa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Prairie, with the one closest to Big Prairie listed first.
    • Wright
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Wright is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
    • Conklin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Big Prairie ...

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

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

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

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

  • Big Prairie - Everett Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Gulp Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Prairie Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • West Aetna Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Croton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Goodwell Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Amish Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Christian Plains Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (204 more) ...
    • Prospect Hill Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Newaygo City Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Aetna Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Big Prairie had a population of 44 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Croton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Croton is located in Newaygo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croton
  • White Cloud
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Alleyton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Alleyton is located in Newaygo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alleyton
  • Woodville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Woodville is located in Newaygo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
  • Newaygo
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Morley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Borland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Borland is located in Mecosta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borland
  • Stanwood
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Howard City
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Sun
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Sun is located in Newaygo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun
  • Amble
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Amble is located in Montcalm County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amble
  • Big Rapids
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Brohman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Brohman is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brohman
      • Former names for Brohman:
      • Dingman
      • Otia
    • Aetna
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Aetna is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aetna
    • Grant
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Big Prairie ...

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 106 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Prairie.

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Big Prairie:

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 Prairie, 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 from Point A (ie- Big Prairie) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.