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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 Billings (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 Billings. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Billings is located in Gladwin County.

To see how the shape of Michigan's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Gladwin County: Arenac, Bay, Clare, Isabella, Midland, Ogemaw & Roscommon.

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

  • Gladwin County     (The home county of Billings)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
    • Highwood
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highwood
      • Highwood is located in Gladwin County
    • Beaverton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Wooden Shoe Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooden Shoe Village
      • Wooden Shoe Village is located in Gladwin County
    • White Star
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Star
      • White Star is located in Gladwin County
    • Rhodes
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes
      • Rhodes is located in Gladwin County
    • Gladwin
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Sugar Rapids
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Rapids
      • Sugar Rapids is located in Gladwin County
  • Arenac County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
    • Sterling
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sterling have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
      • Sterling is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sterling <1>
    • Standish
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Standish have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standish
      • Standish is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,388 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Standish <1>
    • Saganing
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saganing
      • Saganing is located in Arenac County
    • Whites Beach
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whites Beach
      • Whites Beach is located in Arenac County
    • Omer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Omer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omer
      • Omer is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
  • Bay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
    • Mount Forest
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Forest
      • Mount Forest is located in Bay County
    • Bentley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bentley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bentley
      • Bentley is located in Bay County
    • Duel
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duel
      • Duel is located in Bay County
    • Nine Mile
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nine Mile
      • Nine Mile is located in Bay County
    • Woodville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
      • Woodville is located in Bay County
    • Seidlers
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seidlers
      • Seidlers is located in Bay County
    • Willard
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
      • Willard is located in Bay County
    • Pinconning
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinconning have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinconning
      • Pinconning is located in Bay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pinconning <1>
    • Linwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Fisherville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisherville
      • Fisherville is located in Bay County
    • Auburn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Brissette Beach
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brissette Beach
      • Brissette Beach is located in Bay County
    • Kawkawlin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Clare County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
    • Dover
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
      • Dover is located in Clare County
    • Clare
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Meredith
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith
      • Meredith is located in Clare County
    • Hatton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hatton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
      • Hatton is located in Clare County
    • Allendale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allendale
      • Allendale is located in Clare County
    • Harrison
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Farwell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Lake George
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake George
      • Lake George is located in Clare County
  • Gratiot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
    • North Wheeler
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Wheeler have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wheeler
      • North Wheeler is located in Gratiot County
    • Wheeler
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheeler have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
      • Wheeler is located in Gratiot County
  • Isabella County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
    • Loomis
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loomis
      • Loomis is located in Isabella County
    • Vernon City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vernon City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon City
      • Vernon City is located in Isabella County
    • Alembic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alembic
      • Alembic is located in Isabella County
    • Jordan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jordan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
      • Jordan is located in Isabella County
    • Rosebush
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Pleasant
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Shepherd
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Coe
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coe have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coe
      • Coe is located in Isabella County
    • Beal City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beal City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beal City
      • Beal City is located in Isabella County
  • Midland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
    • Edenville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edenville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edenville
      • Edenville is located in Midland County
    • Hope
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
      • Hope is located in Midland County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hope <1>
    • Averill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Averill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Averill
      • Averill is located in Midland County
    • Sanford
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Coleman
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Midland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Oil City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oil City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
      • Oil City is located in Midland County
    • Porter
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
      • Porter is located in Midland County
    • Ryan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ryan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan
      • Ryan is located in Midland County
    • Redstone
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
      • Redstone is located in Midland County
  • Ogemaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
    • Skidway Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skidway Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skidway Lake
      • Skidway Lake is located in Ogemaw County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Skidway Lake <1>
    • West Branch
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Saginaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
    • Freeland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeland
      • Freeland is located in Saginaw County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeland <1>
    • Iva
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iva
      • Iva is located in Saginaw County
    • Dice
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dice
      • Dice is located in Saginaw County
    • Frost
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frost have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
      • Frost is located in Saginaw County
    • Hemlock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Merrill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Billings ...

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 96 newspapers that have been published in the area around Billings.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Billings, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Billings.

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 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 Billings:

Cemeteries Near Billings ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Billings.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Billings Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Billings Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Billings Cemetery
  • Edenville Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Edenville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Edenville Cemetery
  • Swanton Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Swanton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Swanton Cemetery
  • New Hope Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Hope Cemetery
  • Dale Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dale Cemetery
  • Hope Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hope Cemetery
  • Arbutus Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Arbutus Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Arbutus Cemetery
  • Beaverton City Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beaverton City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beaverton City Cemetery
  • Old Bombay Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
  • Hope Lutheran Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • New Rhodes Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Rhodes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Rhodes Cemetery
  • Continue List   (153 more) ...
    • Rhodes Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rhodes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rhodes Cemetery
    • Geneva Community Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Geneva Community Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Geneva Community Cemetery
    • Sullivan Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sullivan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sullivan Cemetery

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 Billings in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Billings.

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

  • Edenville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edenville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edenville
    • Edenville is located in Midland County
  • Hope
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
    • Hope is located in Midland County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hope <1>
  • Beaverton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Rhodes
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes
    • Rhodes is located in Gladwin County
  • Alamando
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alamando have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamando
    • Alamando is located in Midland County
  • North Bradley
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Bradley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bradley
    • North Bradley is located in Midland County
  • Mount Forest
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Forest
    • Mount Forest is located in Bay County
  • Gladwin
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Sanford
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Averill
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Averill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Averill
    • Averill is located in Midland County
  • Coleman
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • McClure
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McClure have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClure
    • McClure is located in Gladwin County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Nine Mile
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nine Mile
      • Nine Mile is located in Bay County
    • Loomis
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loomis
      • Loomis is located in Isabella County
    • Midland
      (16 miles [25.7 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 Billings. See our List of 1890's Communities around Billings.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Billings. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/

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 location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Billings) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Billings. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.8497, Longitude: -84.3472       In this case, the coordinates for Billings have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Billings, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024