RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Michigan >> Clare County >> Clare >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Michigan

The Commemorative Quarter for Michigan





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 Clare (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 Clare. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Clare is primarily located in Clare County. A portion of Clare extends into Isabella 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 Clare County: Gladwin, Isabella, Mecosta, Midland, Missaukee & Roscommon.

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

  • Clare County     (The home county of Clare)
  • Gladwin County
  • Gratiot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clare, with the one closest to Clare listed first.
    • Forest Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Forest Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hill
      • Forest Hill is located in Gratiot County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Forest Hill
      • From Clare to Forest Hill
    • Elwell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Saint Louis
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • North Wheeler
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Wheeler have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wheeler
      • North Wheeler is located in Gratiot County
    • Alma
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alma have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
      • Alma is located in Gratiot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,807 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alma <1>
    • Riverdale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverdale
      • Riverdale is located in Gratiot County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riverdale <1>
  • Isabella County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clare, with the one closest to Clare listed first.
    • Vernon City
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vernon City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon City
      • Vernon City is located in Isabella County
    • Loomis
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Rosebush
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jordan
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jordan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
      • Jordan is located in Isabella County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Jordan
      • From Clare to Jordan
    • Beal City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beal City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beal City
      • Beal City is located in Isabella County
    • Brinton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Weidman
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weidman have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weidman
      • Weidman is located in Isabella County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Weidman <1>
    • Mount Pleasant
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Alembic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Lake Isabella
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sherman City ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Crawford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Shepherd
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Mecosta County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clare, with the one closest to Clare listed first.
    • Barryton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barryton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barryton
      • Barryton is located in Mecosta County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 357 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Barryton <1>
    • Millbrook
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millbrook
      • Millbrook is located in Mecosta County
    • Remus
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Mecosta
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mecosta have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mecosta
      • Mecosta is located in Mecosta County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 459 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mecosta <1>
    • Chippewa Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Pogy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pogy. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pogy
      • Pogy is located in Mecosta County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pogy
      • From Clare to Pogy
    • Halls Corner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Rodney
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rodney have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodney
      • Rodney is located in Mecosta County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rodney <1>
  • Midland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clare, with the one closest to Clare listed first.
    • Coleman
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Alamando
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alamando. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamando
      • Alamando is located in Midland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Alamando
      • From Clare to Alamando
    • North Bradley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Oil City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oil City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
      • Oil City is located in Midland County
    • Edenville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edenville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edenville
      • Edenville is located in Midland County
    • Hope
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
      • Hope is located in Midland County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hope <1>
    • Sanford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Averill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Averill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Averill
      • Averill is located in Midland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Averill
      • From Clare to Averill
    • Porter
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Redstone
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Midland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Missaukee County
    • Vogel Center
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Vogel Center. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vogel Center
      • Vogel Center is located in Missaukee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Vogel Center
      • From Clare to Vogel Center
  • Montcalm County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clare, with the one closest to Clare listed first.
    • Wyman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Vestaburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Cedar Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
      • Cedar Lake is located in Montcalm County
  • Osceola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clare, with the one closest to Clare listed first.
    • Sears
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sears have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sears
      • Sears is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sears <1>
    • Evart
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evart have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evart
      • Evart is located in Osceola County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,886 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Evart <1>
    • Avondale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Avondale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale
      • Avondale is located in Osceola County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Avondale
      • From Clare to Avondale
    • Marion
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Clare ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Clare.

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

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

  • Cherry Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • St. Cecilia Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Vernon Twp. Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vernon Twp. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vernon Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Surrey Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Surrey Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Surrey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wise Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wise Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wise Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • East Colonville Amish Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Thompson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Thompson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Thompson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gilmore Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gilmore Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gilmore Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Henrys Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Henrys Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Henrys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Elm Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Elm Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Elm Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodland Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (153 more) ...
    • Bissing Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bissing Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bissing Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Hatton Twp. Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • River Lawn Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the River Lawn Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the River Lawn 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Clare had a population of 1,074 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Clare had a population of 3,053 people.

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

  • Dover
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Loomis
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Farwell
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Hatton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hatton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
    • Hatton is located in Clare County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Hatton
    • From Clare to Hatton
  • Wise
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wise have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wise
    • Wise is located in Isabella County
  • Delwin
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Delwin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delwin
    • Delwin is located in Isabella County
  • Coleman
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Leaton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leaton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaton
    • Leaton is located in Isabella County
  • Jordan
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jordan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
    • Jordan is located in Isabella County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Jordan
    • From Clare to Jordan
  • Brinton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Lake
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Alamando
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alamando. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamando
    • Alamando is located in Midland County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Alamando
    • From Clare to Alamando
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Clare ...

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 123 newspapers that have been published in the area around Clare.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Clare. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Clare and those printed in the larger area surrounding Clare.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Clare.

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 Clare:

The official website for Clare: www.cityofclare.org/

The official website for Clare County: www.clareco.net/

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>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>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- Clare) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Clare. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.8194, Longitude: -84.7671    
<6>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 Clare, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025