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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 Cecil (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 Cecil. 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.

Cecil is located in Emmet 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 Emmet County: Charlevoix & Cheboygan.

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

  • Emmet County     (The home county of Cecil)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cecil, with the one closest to Cecil listed first.
    • Mackinaw City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Carp Lake
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bliss
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bliss. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss
      • Bliss is located in Emmet County
    • Levering
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Van
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van
      • Van is located in Emmet County
    • Cross Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cross Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Village
      • Cross Village is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cross Village <1>
    • Marsh Corner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Corner
      • Marsh Corner is located in Emmet County
    • Pellston
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Brutus
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brutus have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brutus
      • Brutus is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brutus <1>
    • Good Hart
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Stutsmanville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stutsmanville
      • Stutsmanville is located in Emmet County
    • Middle Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middle Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Village
      • Middle Village is located in Emmet County
  • Charlevoix County
    • Bay Shore
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Shore
      • Bay Shore is located in Charlevoix County
  • Cheboygan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cecil, with the one closest to Cecil listed first.
    • Point Nipigon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Nipigon
      • Point Nipigon is located in Cheboygan County
      • Point Nipigon has also been known as:
      • Point Nip-i-gon
    • Riggsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riggsville
      • Riggsville is located in Cheboygan County
    • Cheboygan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cheboygan have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheboygan
      • Cheboygan is located in Cheboygan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,697 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cheboygan <1>
    • Mullett Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mullett Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullett Lake
      • Mullett Lake is located in Cheboygan County
    • Silver Beach
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Beach
      • Silver Beach is located in Cheboygan County
    • Long Point
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Point
      • Long Point is located in Cheboygan County
    • Veery Point
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veery Point
      • Veery Point is located in Cheboygan County
    • Burt Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burt Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burt Lake
      • Burt Lake is located in Cheboygan County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burt Lake <1>
    • Giauque Beach
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giauque Beach
      • Giauque Beach is located in Cheboygan County
    • Topinabee
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Indian River
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian River have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian River
      • Indian River is located in Cheboygan County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Indian River <1>
    • Wildwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wildwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
      • Wildwood is located in Cheboygan County
  • Chippewa County
    • Dick
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dick. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dick
      • Dick is located in Chippewa County
  • Mackinac County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cecil, with the one closest to Cecil listed first.
    • Gros Cap
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gros Cap
      • Gros Cap is located in Mackinac County
    • Saint Ignace
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Ignace have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Ignace
      • Saint Ignace is located in Mackinac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,325 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Ignace <1>
    • British Landing
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for British Landing
      • British Landing is located in Mackinac County
    • Mackinac Island
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mackinac Island have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackinac Island
      • Mackinac Island is located in Mackinac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
    • Pointe Aux Pins
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Allenville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenville
      • Allenville is located in Mackinac County
    • Moran
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Moran. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moran
      • Moran is located in Mackinac County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moran <1>
    • Pontchartrain Shores
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pontchartrain Shores
      • Pontchartrain Shores is located in Mackinac County
    • Kenneth
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenneth
      • Kenneth is located in Mackinac County
    • Hessel
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Simmons ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Simmons. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simmons
      • Simmons is located in Mackinac County
    • Epoufette
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epoufette
      • Epoufette is located in Mackinac County

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

Cemeteries Near Cecil ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cecil.

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

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

  • Lakeview Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakeview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakeview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bliss Twp. Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bliss Twp. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bliss Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Levering & Carp Lake Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Levering & Carp Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Levering & Carp Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mackinaw City Bible Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mackinaw City Bible Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mackinaw City Bible Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hebron Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hebron Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hebron Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gros Gap Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gros Gap Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gros Gap Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lakeside Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakeside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakeside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Ignace's Catholic Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Ignace's Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Ignace's Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sailors & Indians Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sailors & Indians Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sailors & Indians Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Cross Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Nicholas Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Nicholas Cemetery
    • The St. Nicholas Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St. Nichols Cemetery
  • Continue List   (69 more) ...
    • Indian Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • McKinley Twp. Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McKinley Twp. Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McKinley Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Munro Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Munro Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Munro Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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.<4>

While we didn't find Cecil in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Cecil.

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

  • Bliss
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bliss. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss
    • Bliss is located in Emmet County
  • Carp Lake
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Mackinaw City
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Levering
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Freedom
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freedom have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom
    • Freedom is located in Cheboygan County
  • Saint Ignace
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Ignace have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Ignace
    • Saint Ignace is located in Mackinac County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,325 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Ignace <1>
  • Cross Village
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cross Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Village
    • Cross Village is located in Emmet County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cross Village <1>
  • Mackinac Island
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mackinac Island have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackinac Island
    • Mackinac Island is located in Mackinac County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
  • Pellston
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Riggsville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riggsville
    • Riggsville is located in Cheboygan County
  • Pointe Aux Pins
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Moran
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Moran. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moran
    • Moran is located in Mackinac County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moran <1>
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Pleasant View
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant View have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
      • Pleasant View is located in Emmet County
    • Ayr
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ayr have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayr
      • Ayr is located in Emmet County
    • Brutus
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brutus have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brutus
      • Brutus is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brutus <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Cecil ...

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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cecil.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cecil, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cecil.

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 Cecil:

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

The official website for Emmet County: www.co.emmet.mi.us/

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>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.
<3>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.
<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 Cecil, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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 from Point A (ie- Cecil) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cecil. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.7461, Longitude: -84.8289       In this case, the coordinates for Cecil have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025