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 Charleston (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 Charleston. 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 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.
Charleston is located in Sanilac 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 Sanilac County: Huron, Lapeer, Saint Clair & Tuscola.
Below are the counties that are near Charleston. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Charleston:
- Sanilac County (The home county of Charleston)
- The following are listed by their distance from Charleston, with the one closest to Charleston listed first.
- Forestville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Forestville is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
- Minden City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Palms
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Palms is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palms
- Richmondville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Richmondville is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmondville
- Deckerville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Tyre
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Tyre is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyre
- McGregor
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- McGregor is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGregor
- Forester
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Forester is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forester
- Argyle
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Argyle is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
- Berkshire ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Berkshire is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkshire
- Carsonville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Port Sanilac
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sandusky
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sandusky is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,494 people
- Former name for Sandusky:
- Sanilac Centre
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sandusky <1>
- Huron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Charleston, with the one closest to Charleston listed first.
- Ruth
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- White Rock
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- White Rock is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
- Helena
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Helena is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
- Harbor Beach
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Harbor Beach is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor Beach
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,570 people
- Former name for Harbor Beach:
- Sand Beach
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harbor Beach <1>
- Ubly
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Rapson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rapson is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapson
- Bad Axe
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Port Hope
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Redman
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Redman is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redman
- Filion
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Filion is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Filion
- Kinde
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Huron City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Huron City is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron City
- Elkton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Tuscola County
- The following are listed by their distance from Charleston, with the one closest to Charleston listed first.
- Cass City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Deford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Deford is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deford
- Gagetown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Wilmot
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wilmot is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
- Kingston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Elmwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Elmwood is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Charleston, see our County-by-County Page for Charleston.
Cemeteries Near Charleston ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Charleston.
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 Charleston - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Charleston covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Charleston, with the one closest to Charleston listed first.
- St. John Lutheran Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. John Lutheran Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. John Lutheran Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<2> to the southeast of Minden City.
- The St. John Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. John Cemetery
- West Delaware Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1931 <3>
- Linwood Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Delaware Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Snay Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Delaware Twp. Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- St. Johns Catholic Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Vogel Estates Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Zion Lutheran Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion Lutheran Cemetery
- The Zion Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- Immanuel Cemetery
- Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #786 <3>
- St. Patrick Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- White Rock Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (115 more) ...
- Mills Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Kelley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Minden Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minden Cemetery
- The Minden Cemetery has also been known as:
- Minden City Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1081 <3>
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Charleston had a population of 45 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Charleston, with the one closest to Charleston listed first.
- Forestville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Forestville is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
- Ruth
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Minden City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Palms
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Palms is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palms
- White Rock
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- White Rock is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
- Parisville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Parisville is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parisville
- Helena
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Helena is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
- Richmondville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Richmondville is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmondville
- Deckerville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Tyre
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Tyre is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyre
- Freidberger
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Freidberger is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freidberger
- Forester
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Forester is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forester
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Cumber
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Cumber is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumber
- Argyle
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Argyle is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
- Berkshire ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Berkshire is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkshire
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Charleston. See our List of 1890's Communities around Charleston.
Newspapers Published in Charleston ...
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 47 newspapers that have been published in the area around Charleston.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Charleston, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Charleston.
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 Charleston:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Sanilac County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Huron County
- Tuscola 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Charleston) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Charleston, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |