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 Breezy Beach (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 Breezy Beach. 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 Breezy Beach ...
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 Breezy Beach: Breezy Bch.
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 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.
Breezy Beach is located in Saint Joseph 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 Saint Joseph County: Elkhart (IN), LaGrange (IN), Branch, Cass & Kalamazoo.
Below are the counties that are near Breezy Beach. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Breezy Beach:
- Saint Joseph County (The home county of Breezy Beach)
- The following are listed by their distance from Breezy Beach, with the one closest to Breezy Beach listed first.
- Oakwood
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Oakwood is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Klingers
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Klingers is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klingers
- Bluff Beach
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Bluff Beach is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Beach
- White Pigeon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Constantine
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Sturgis
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Centreville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Centreville is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,400 people
- Nottawa
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Three Rivers
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Wasepi
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wasepi is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasepi
- Mottville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Mottville is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mottville
- Fabius
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fabius is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fabius
- Branch County
- The following are listed by their distance from Breezy Beach, with the one closest to Breezy Beach listed first.
- Bronson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Gilead
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Gilead is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Matteson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Matteson is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matteson
- Sherwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sherwood is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
- Hatmaker
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Hatmaker is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- Batavia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Batavia is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Union City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hodunk
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hodunk is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodunk
- Canada Shores
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Canada Shores is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Shores
- Coldwater
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Breezy Beach, with the one closest to Breezy Beach listed first.
- Athens
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- East Leroy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- East Leroy is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Leroy
- Cass County
- The following are listed by their distance from Breezy Beach, with the one closest to Breezy Beach listed first.
- Corey
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Corey is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corey
- Jones
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Union
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Vandalia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Vandalia is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Marcellus
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wakelee
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wakelee is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakelee
- Brownsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Brownsville is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Penn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Penn is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn
- Cassopolis
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- La Grange
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- La Grange is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Grange
- Edwardsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Dowagiac
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Kalamazoo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Breezy Beach, with the one closest to Breezy Beach listed first.
- Schoolcraft
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Vicksburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Fulton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Fulton is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Pavillion Center
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Pavillion Center is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavillion Center
- Portage
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Scotts
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Milwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Milwood is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milwood
- Van Buren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Breezy Beach, with the one closest to Breezy Beach listed first.
- Lawton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Decatur
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mattawan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Elkhart County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Breezy Beach, with the one closest to Breezy Beach listed first.
- Middlebury
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bristol
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Garden Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Garden Village is located in Elkhart County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Village
- Millersburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Dunlap
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dunlap is located in Elkhart County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap
- Goshen
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Simonton Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Simonton Lake is located in Elkhart County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simonton Lake
- Benton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Benton is located in Elkhart County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Elkhart
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Bainter Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Bainter Town is located in Elkhart County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainter Town
- New Paris
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jamestown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jamestown is located in Elkhart County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Kosciusko County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Breezy Beach, with the one closest to Breezy Beach listed first.
- Syracuse
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Wawasee Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Wawasee Village is located in Kosciusko County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wawasee Village
- Milford Junction
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Milford Junction is located in Kosciusko County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford Junction
- Milford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Milford is located in Kosciusko County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,551 people
- LaGrange County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Breezy Beach, with the one closest to Breezy Beach listed first.
- Scott
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Scott is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott
- Seyberts
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Seyberts is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyberts
- Shipshewana
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Howe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- LaGrange
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Brighton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Brighton is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Mongo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Plato
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Plato is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato
- Greenfield Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- Valentine
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- Topeka
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Brushy Prairie
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Brushy Prairie is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Prairie
- Noble County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Breezy Beach, with the one closest to Breezy Beach listed first.
- Cosperville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Cosperville is located in Noble County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosperville
- Ligonier
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Rome City
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Wawaka
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Brimfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Brimfield is located in Noble County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
- Cromwell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Albion
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Kimmell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Wakeville Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Wakeville Village is located in Noble County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakeville Village
- Kendallville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Indian Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Indian Village is located in Noble County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Saint Joseph County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Breezy Beach, with the one closest to Breezy Beach listed first.
- Granger
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Osceola
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Osceola is located in Saint Joseph County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,486 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osceola <1>
- Steuben County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Breezy Beach, with the one closest to Breezy Beach listed first.
- Orland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Jamestown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Jamestown is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Angola
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Hudson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Breezy Beach, see our County-by-County Page for Breezy Beach.
Cemeteries Near Breezy Beach ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Breezy Beach.
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 Breezy Beach - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Breezy Beach covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Breezy Beach, with the one closest to Breezy Beach listed first.
- Newville Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Calhoun Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Barton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove Mennonite Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- White Pigeon Twp. Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bethel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Eagley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagley Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Eagley Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the east of Scott (IN).
- The Eagley Cemetery has also been known as:
- Callahan Cemetery
- Cowen Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2417739 <2>
- Salem Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Constantine Twp. Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Pioneer Memorial Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Sidener Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (315 more) ...
- Peek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mack Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- New Pennsylvania Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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 Breezy Beach in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Breezy Beach.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Breezy Beach, with the one closest to Breezy Beach listed first.
- Scott
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Scott is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott
- White Pigeon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Constantine
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Seyberts
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Seyberts is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyberts
- Sturgis
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Shipshewana
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Centreville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Centreville is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,400 people
- Vistula
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Vistula is located in Elkhart County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vistula
- Nottawa
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Three Rivers
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Wasepi
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wasepi is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasepi
- Mottville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Mottville is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mottville
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Middlebury
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ontario
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ontario is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
- Fawn River
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Fawn River is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn River
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Breezy Beach. See our List of 1890's Communities around Breezy Beach.
Newspapers Published in Breezy Beach ...
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 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Breezy Beach.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Breezy Beach, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Breezy Beach.
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 either 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 Breezy Beach:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Saint Joseph County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Branch County
- Calhoun County
- Cass County
- Kalamazoo County
- Van Buren County
- Elkhart County
- Kosciusko County
- LaGrange County
- Noble County
- Saint Joseph County
- Steuben County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Michigan
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Breezy Beach) 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 Breezy Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |