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 Burr Oak (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 Burr Oak. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Burr Oak 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 Burr Oak. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Burr Oak:
- Saint Joseph County (The home county of Burr Oak)
- The following are listed by their distance from Burr Oak, with the one closest to Burr Oak listed first.
- Findley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Findley is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Findley
- Fawn River
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Fawn River is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn River
- Sturgis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Colon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Colon is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,155 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colon <1>
- Fairfax
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Fairfax is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax
- Nottawa
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Wasepi
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wasepi is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasepi
- Centreville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Centreville is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,400 people
- Bluff Beach
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Bluff Beach is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Beach
- Klingers
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Klingers is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klingers
- Leonidas
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Oakwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Oakwood is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Mendon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Branch County
- The following are listed by their distance from Burr Oak, with the one closest to Burr Oak listed first.
- Bronson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Gilead
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Gilead is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Matteson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Matteson is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matteson
- Hatmaker
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Hatmaker is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- Sherwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Sherwood is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
- Batavia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Batavia is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Coldwater
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Hodunk
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hodunk is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodunk
- Union City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Canada Shores
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Canada Shores is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Shores
- Trailtree Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Trailtree Village is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailtree Village
- Girard
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Girard is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard
- Fisher
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Fisher is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Burr Oak, with the one closest to Burr Oak listed first.
- Athens
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Burlington
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Burlington is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 277 people
- East Leroy
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- East Leroy is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Leroy
- Joppa
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Joppa is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa
- Tekonsha
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- West Leroy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- West Leroy is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leroy
- Sonoma
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Sonoma is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonoma
- Beadle Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Beadle Lake is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beadle Lake
- Cass County
- The following are listed by their distance from Burr Oak, with the one closest to Burr Oak listed first.
- Corey
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Corey is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corey
- Jones
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Marcellus
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Union
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Vandalia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Vandalia is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Wakelee
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Wakelee is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakelee
- Hillsdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Burr Oak, with the one closest to Burr Oak listed first.
- Montgomery
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Montgomery is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
- Allen
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Camden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Reading
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Kalamazoo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Burr Oak, with the one closest to Burr Oak listed first.
- Fulton
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Fulton is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Vicksburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Scotts
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Schoolcraft
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Pavillion Center
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Pavillion Center is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavillion Center
- Climax
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Climax is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climax
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Portage
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Galesburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Milwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Milwood is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milwood
- DeKalb County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Burr Oak, with the one closest to Burr Oak listed first.
- Ashley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fairfield Center
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Fairfield Center is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Center
- Corunna
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Corunna is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Elkhart County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Burr Oak, with the one closest to Burr Oak listed first.
- Middlebury
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Bristol
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Millersburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- LaGrange County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Burr Oak, with the one closest to Burr Oak listed first.
- Brighton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Brighton is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Greenfield Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- Howe
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mongo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Seyberts
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Seyberts is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyberts
- Brushy Prairie
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Brushy Prairie is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Prairie
- LaGrange
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Plato
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Plato is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato
- Scott
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Scott is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott
- Valentine
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- Shipshewana
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Stroh
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Stroh is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroh
- Gravel Beach
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Gravel Beach is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Beach
- Noble County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Burr Oak, with the one closest to Burr Oak listed first.
- Rome City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Cosperville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Cosperville is located in Noble County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosperville
- Wakeville Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Wakeville Village is located in Noble County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakeville Village
- Brimfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Brimfield is located in Noble County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
- Kendallville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Wawaka
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Ligonier
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Steuben County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Burr Oak, with the one closest to Burr Oak listed first.
- Orland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jamestown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jamestown is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Fremont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Angola
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ray
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Ray is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Hudson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Lake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Clear Lake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Clear Lake is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- York
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- York is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Russels Point
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Russels Point is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russels Point
- Hamilton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hamilton is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,595 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Burr Oak, see our County-by-County Page for Burr Oak.
Cemeteries Near Burr Oak ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Burr Oak.
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 Burr Oak - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Burr Oak covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Burr Oak, with the one closest to Burr Oak listed first.
- Burr Oak Twp. Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Sanborn Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Froh Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Freedom Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Adams Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Tobey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Dutch Settlement Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fawn River Village Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Haight Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Findley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Locust Grove Mennonite Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Trayer Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (306 more) ...
- South Colon Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Oak Lawn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sturgis Memorial Gardens Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Burr Oak had a population of 675 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Burr Oak had a population of 800 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Burr Oak, with the one closest to Burr Oak listed first.
- Fawn River
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Fawn River is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn River
- Findley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Findley is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Findley
- Sturgis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bronson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Colon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Colon is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,155 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colon <1>
- Fairfax
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Fairfax is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax
- Brighton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Brighton is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Greenfield Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- Nottawa
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Gilead
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Gilead is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Matteson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Matteson is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matteson
- Wasepi
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wasepi is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasepi
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Ontario
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Ontario is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
- Hatmaker
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Hatmaker is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- Mongo
(11 miles [17.7 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 Burr Oak. See our List of 1890's Communities around Burr Oak.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Burr Oak ...
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 114 newspapers that have been published in the area around Burr Oak.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Burr Oak. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Burr Oak and those printed in the larger area surrounding Burr Oak.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<3> of Burr Oak.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Burr Oak:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Saint Joseph County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Branch County
- Calhoun County
- Cass County
- Hillsdale County
- Kalamazoo County
- DeKalb County
- Elkhart County
- LaGrange County
- Noble 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> | 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 Burr Oak, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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- Burr Oak) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |