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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 Chatham (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 Chatham. 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 doctors 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.

Chatham is located in Alger 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 Alger County: Delta, Luce, Marquette & Schoolcraft.

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

  • Alger County     (The home county of Chatham)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chatham, with the one closest to Chatham listed first.
    • Slapneck ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Slapneck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slapneck
      • Slapneck is located in Alger County
    • Eben Junction
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eben Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eben Junction
      • Eben Junction is located in Alger County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eben Junction <2>
    • Rumely
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Traunik
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Au Train
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Dorsey
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dorsey. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorsey
      • Dorsey is located in Alger County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dorsey
      • From Chatham to Dorsey
    • Onota
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Onota. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onota
      • Onota is located in Alger County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Onota
      • From Chatham to Onota
    • Deerton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Trenary
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trenary have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenary
      • Trenary is located in Alger County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trenary <2>
    • Diffin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Diffin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diffin
      • Diffin is located in Alger County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Diffin
      • From Chatham to Diffin
    • Munising Junction
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Munising
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Wetmore
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Delta County
  • Marquette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chatham, with the one closest to Chatham listed first.
    • New Dalton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for New Dalton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Dalton
      • New Dalton is located in Marquette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to New Dalton
      • From Chatham to New Dalton
    • Carlshend
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carlshend. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlshend
      • Carlshend is located in Marquette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Carlshend
      • From Chatham to Carlshend
    • Skandia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skandia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skandia
      • Skandia is located in Marquette County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Skandia <2>
    • Helena
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Helena. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
      • Helena is located in Marquette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Helena
      • From Chatham to Helena
    • McFarland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Little Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Lake
      • Little Lake is located in Marquette County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Little Lake <2>
    • Harvey
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harvey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
      • Harvey is located in Marquette County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harvey <2>
    • Sands
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Gwinn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Austin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Marquette
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Gentian
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gentian. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gentian
      • Gentian is located in Marquette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Gentian
      • From Chatham to Gentian
    • Brookton Corners
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Schoolcraft County
    • Steuben
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Steuben. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
      • Steuben is located in Schoolcraft County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Steuben
      • From Chatham to Steuben

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

Cemeteries Near Chatham ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chatham.

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

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

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.<5>

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

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

  • Au Train
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Rock River
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock River
    • Rock River is located in Alger County
  • Onota
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Onota. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onota
    • Onota is located in Alger County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Onota
    • From Chatham to Onota
  • Deerton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Munising
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Gordon
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gordon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
    • Gordon is located in Marquette County
  • McFarland
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Lathrop
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lathrop. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lathrop
    • Lathrop is located in Delta County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Lathrop
    • From Chatham to Lathrop
  • Little Lake
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Lake
    • Little Lake is located in Marquette County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Little Lake <2>
  • Shingleton
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Swanzy
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swanzy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swanzy
    • Swanzy is located in Marquette County
  • Rock
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (9 more) ...
    • Harvey
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harvey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
      • Harvey is located in Marquette County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harvey <2>
    • Plains
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plains have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plains
      • Plains is located in Marquette County
    • Sands
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Chatham ...

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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chatham.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Chatham, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Chatham.

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 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 Chatham:

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

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>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.
<5>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 Chatham, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Chatham) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Chatham. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.3476, Longitude: -86.9289    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025