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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 Chamberlain (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 Chamberlain. 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 Chamberlain ...

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.

Another variation: Chamberlains.

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 and doctors 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.

Chamberlain is located in Saint Joseph 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 Saint Joseph County: Elkhart (IN), LaGrange (IN), Branch, Cass & Kalamazoo.

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

  • Saint Joseph County     (The home county of Chamberlain)
  • Allegan County
  • Barry County
    • Doster
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Doster. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doster
      • Doster is located in Barry County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Doster
      • From Chamberlain to Doster
  • Berrien County
  • Branch County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chamberlain, with the one closest to Chamberlain listed first.
    • Sherwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Matteson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chamberlain, with the one closest to Chamberlain listed first.
    • West Leroy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Athens
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Athens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
      • Athens is located in Calhoun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 996 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Athens <2>
    • East Leroy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Leroy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Leroy
      • East Leroy is located in Calhoun County
    • Fort Custer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fort Custer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Custer
      • Fort Custer is located in Calhoun County
      • Former name for Fort Custer:
      • Camp Custer
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fort Custer
      • From Chamberlain to Fort Custer
    • Joppa
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Sonoma
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sonoma. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonoma
      • Sonoma is located in Calhoun County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sonoma
      • From Chamberlain to Sonoma
  • Cass County
  • Kalamazoo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chamberlain, with the one closest to Chamberlain listed first.
    • Schoolcraft
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Vicksburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Portage
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Oshtemo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Milwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Pavillion Center
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Westwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
      • Westwood is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Kalamazoo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Comstock
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Comstock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
      • Comstock is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Eastwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eastwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastwood
      • Eastwood is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Scotts
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scotts have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts
      • Scotts is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scotts <2>
    • Fulton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fulton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
      • Fulton is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Parchment
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parchment have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parchment
      • Parchment is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,825 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parchment <2>
  • Van Buren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chamberlain, with the one closest to Chamberlain listed first.
    • Lawton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
      • Lawton is located in Van Buren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,796 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lawton <2>
    • Mattawan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mattawan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattawan
      • Mattawan is located in Van Buren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,973 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mattawan <2>
    • Paw Paw
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Decatur
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Decatur have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
      • Decatur is located in Van Buren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,716 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Decatur <2>
    • Almena
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Almena. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
      • Almena is located in Van Buren County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Almena
      • From Chamberlain to Almena
    • North Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lake
      • North Lake is located in Van Buren County
    • Lawrence
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Glendale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Kendall
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Gobles
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Hartford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Bangor
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Breedsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Elkhart County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chamberlain, with the one closest to Chamberlain listed first.
    • Bristol
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bristol have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
      • Bristol is located in Elkhart County (IN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,697 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bristol <2>
    • Simonton Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Simonton Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simonton Lake
      • Simonton Lake is located in Elkhart County (IN)
    • Garden Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Village
      • Garden Village is located in Elkhart County (IN)
    • Middlebury
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middlebury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlebury
      • Middlebury is located in Elkhart County (IN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,608 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Middlebury <2>
    • Elkhart
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Dunlap
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunlap have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap
      • Dunlap is located in Elkhart County (IN)
  • LaGrange County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chamberlain, with the one closest to Chamberlain listed first.
    • Seyberts
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Shipshewana
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shipshewana have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipshewana
      • Shipshewana is located in LaGrange County (IN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 731 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shipshewana <2>
    • Howe
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe
      • Howe is located in LaGrange County (IN)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Howe <2>
  • Saint Joseph County (IN)

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

Cemeteries Near Chamberlain ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chamberlain.

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

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

  • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bly Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bly Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bly Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Howardsville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Howardsville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Howardsville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Kern Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kern Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kern Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Knobhill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Knobhill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Knobhill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Flowerfield Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Flowerfield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Flowerfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Shaver Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shaver Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shaver Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Upper Flatbush Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Upper Flatbush Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Upper Flatbush Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Gregory's Episcopal Abbey Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Gregory's Episcopal Abbey Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Gregory's Episcopal Abbey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Flatbush Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Flatbush Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Flatbush Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Schoolcraft Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Schoolcraft Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Schoolcraft Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Harrison Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harrison Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harrison Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (330 more) ...
    • Rose Hill Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Haight Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Haight Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Haight Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Huyck Graves
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Huyck Graves
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Huyck Graves have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 Chamberlain in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Chamberlain.

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

  • Howardsville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howardsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howardsville
    • Howardsville is located in Saint Joseph County
  • Marcellus
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Flowerfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flowerfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flowerfield
    • Flowerfield is located in Saint Joseph County
  • Schoolcraft
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Wakelee
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wakelee. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakelee
    • Wakelee is located in Cass County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Wakelee
    • From Chamberlain to Wakelee
  • Lawton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
    • Lawton is located in Van Buren County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,796 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lawton <2>
  • Mattawan
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mattawan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattawan
    • Mattawan is located in Van Buren County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,973 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mattawan <2>
  • Fabius
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Three Rivers
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Three Rivers have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Rivers
    • Three Rivers is located in Saint Joseph County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,600 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Three Rivers <2>
  • Parkville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Volinia
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Volinia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volinia
    • Volinia is located in Cass County
  • Jones
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Chamberlain ...

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 175 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chamberlain.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Chamberlain, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Chamberlain.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Chamberlain:

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

The official website for Saint Joseph County: www.stjosephcountymi.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 Chamberlain, 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- Chamberlain) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Chamberlain. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.0665, Longitude: -85.7431    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025