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 Bowens Mill (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 Bowens Mill. 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 Bowens Mill ...
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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Bowens Mill: Bowens Ml. (or less commonly used: Bowens Mll.)
- While the name of this community is Bowens Mill, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Bowens Mill may originally have been Bowen's Mill.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Bowens Mill might be written as Bown Mill.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Bowens Mill. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bowens Mill.
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 southwest 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 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.
Bowens Mill is located in Barry 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 Barry County: Allegan, Calhoun, Eaton, Ionia, Kalamazoo & Kent.
Below are the counties that are near Bowens Mill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bowens Mill:
- Barry County (The home county of Bowens Mill)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowens Mill, with the one closest to Bowens Mill listed first.
- Middleville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Irving
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Irving is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
- Prairieville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Prairieville is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
- Cloverdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cloverdale is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Hastings
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Freeport
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Delton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Doster
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Doster is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doster
- Cedar Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Creek is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek
- Dowling
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dowling is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowling
- Hickory Corners
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Banfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Banfield is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banfield
- Allegan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowens Mill, with the one closest to Bowens Mill listed first.
- Bradley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Bradley is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Wayland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Shelbyville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Moline
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Moline is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moline
- Hooper
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Hooper is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooper
- Neeley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Neeley is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neeley
- Martin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hilliards
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Hilliards is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilliards
- Dorr
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Watson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Watson is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
- Hopkins
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- New Salem
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- New Salem is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowens Mill, with the one closest to Bowens Mill listed first.
- Bedford
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Level Park
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Level Park is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Level Park
- Oak Park
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Park is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park
- Fort Custer
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Custer is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Custer
- Former name for Fort Custer:
- Camp Custer
- Springfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pennfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pennfield is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennfield
- Battle Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Verona Park
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Verona Park is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona Park
- Brownlee Park
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Brownlee Park is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownlee Park
- Eaton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowens Mill, with the one closest to Bowens Mill listed first.
- Woodbury
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Woodbury is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbury
- Vermontville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Sunfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Carlisle
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Carlisle is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Little Venice
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Little Venice is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Venice
- Bellevue
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Chester
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Chester is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
- Ionia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowens Mill, with the one closest to Bowens Mill listed first.
- Campbell Corners
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Campbell Corners is located in Ionia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Corners
- Elmdale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Elmdale is located in Ionia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
- Clarksville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Odessa
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Saranac
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- West Sebewa
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- West Sebewa is located in Ionia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Sebewa
- Smyrna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Kalamazoo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowens Mill, with the one closest to Bowens Mill listed first.
- Highland Park
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Highland Park is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
- Richland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- South Gull Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- South Gull Lake is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gull Lake
- Yorkville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Yorkville is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkville
- East Cooper
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- East Cooper is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cooper
- Alamo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Alamo is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamo
- Parchment
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Augusta
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Eastwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Eastwood is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastwood
- Comstock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Comstock is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
- Galesburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Kalamazoo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Kent County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowens Mill, with the one closest to Bowens Mill listed first.
- Caledonia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Corinth
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Corinth is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Dutton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Dutton is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutton
- Byron Center
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Carlisle
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Carlisle is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Cutlerville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- North Dorr
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- North Dorr is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dorr
- Alto
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Kentwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Burlingame
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Burlingame is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
- Clyde Park
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Clyde Park is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde Park
- Ada
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Ottawa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowens Mill, with the one closest to Bowens Mill listed first.
- Forest Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Forest Grove is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove
- Jamestown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jamestown is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Forest Grove Station
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Forest Grove Station is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove Station
- Hudsonville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jenison
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Drenthe
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Drenthe is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenthe
- South Blendon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- South Blendon is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Blendon
- Bauer
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bauer is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauer
- Zeeland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Marne
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Noordeloos
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Noordeloos is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noordeloos
- Waverly
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Waverly is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
- Van Buren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowens Mill, with the one closest to Bowens Mill listed first.
- Kendall
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Kendall is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
- Gobles
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- North Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- North Lake is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lake
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bowens Mill, see our County-by-County Page for Bowens Mill.
Cemeteries Near Bowens Mill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bowens Mill.
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 Bowens Mill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bowens Mill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bowens Mill, with the one closest to Bowens Mill listed first.
- Bowerman Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Coman Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- St.s Cyril & Methodius' Catholic Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Robbins Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- German Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Messer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jesuit Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Yankee Springs Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bradley Indian Mission Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- IOOF Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (317 more) ...
- Hooker Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Selkirk Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
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 Bowens Mill had a population of 51 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bowens Mill, with the one closest to Bowens Mill listed first.
- Middleville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Irving
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Irving is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
- Bradley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Bradley is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Corning
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Corning is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corning
- Wayland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Shelbyville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Moline
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Moline is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moline
- Martin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hooper
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Hooper is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooper
- Prairieville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Prairieville is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
- Cloverdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cloverdale is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Labarge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Labarge is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Labarge
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Hilliards
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Hilliards is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilliards
- Hastings
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Corinth
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Corinth is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bowens Mill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bowens Mill.
Newspapers Published in Bowens Mill ...
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 85 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bowens Mill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bowens Mill, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bowens Mill.
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 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 Bowens Mill:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Barry County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegan County
- Calhoun County
- Eaton County
- Ionia County
- Kalamazoo County
- Kent County
- Ottawa County
- Van Buren County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Michigan
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Bowens Mill, 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- Bowens Mill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |