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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 Bruce Crossing (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 Bruce Crossing. 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 Bruce Crossing ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Bruce Crossing: Bruce Xing.

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 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.

Bruce Crossing is located in Ontonagon 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 Ontonagon County: Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Cook (MN) & Ashland (WI).

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

  • Ontonagon County     (The home county of Bruce Crossing)
  • Baraga County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bruce Crossing, with the one closest to Bruce Crossing listed first.
    • Watton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Watton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watton
      • Watton is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Watton <3>
    • Covington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Covington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covington
      • Covington is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Covington <3>
  • Gogebic County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bruce Crossing, with the one closest to Bruce Crossing listed first.
    • Fuller
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fuller. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
      • Fuller is located in Gogebic County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fuller
      • From Bruce Crossing to Fuller
    • Watersmeet
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • White City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
      • White City is located in Gogebic County
    • Katakitckon Indian Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Katakitckon Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katakitckon Indian Village
      • Katakitckon Indian Village is located in Gogebic County
    • Marenisco
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Houghton County
  • Vilas County (WI)

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

Cemeteries Near Bruce Crossing ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bruce Crossing.

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 Bruce Crossing covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Bruce Crossing Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Paynesville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Paynesville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Paynesville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ewen Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ewen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ewen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Agate Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Agate Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Agate Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Trout Creek Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Barclay Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Barclay Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Barclay Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Norwich Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Norwich Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Norwich Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Interior Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Interior Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Interior Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Irish Hollow Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Irish Hollow Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Irish Hollow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Methodist Rose Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Methodist Rose Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Methodist Rose Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodawn Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (25 more) ...
    • Kenton Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kenton Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kenton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Old Indian Burial Grounds
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Indian Burial Grounds
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Indian Burial Grounds have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Rousseau Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rousseau Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rousseau Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Bruce Crossing had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Paynesville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Ewen
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ewen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewen
    • Ewen is located in Ontonagon County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ewen <3>
  • Trout Creek
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Robbins
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Robbins have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robbins
    • Robbins is located in Ontonagon County
  • Matchwood
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Matchwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matchwood
    • Matchwood is located in Ontonagon County
  • Kenton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Rockland
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
    • Rockland is located in Ontonagon County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockland <3>
  • Pori
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pori have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pori
    • Pori is located in Houghton County
  • Tamarack
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tamarack have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamarack
    • Tamarack is located in Gogebic County
    • Tamarack has also been known as:
    • Tamarack Lake
  • Greenland
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Watersmeet
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Thayer
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thayer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thayer
    • Thayer is located in Gogebic County
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Bruce Crossing ...

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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bruce Crossing.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bruce Crossing, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bruce Crossing.

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 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 Bruce Crossing:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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- Bruce Crossing) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bruce Crossing. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.5349, Longitude: -89.1787    
<5>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.
<6>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 Bruce Crossing, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025