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 Clifford (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 Clifford. 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 hospitals 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.
Clifford is located in Lapeer 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 Lapeer County: Genesee, Macomb, Oakland, Saint Clair, Sanilac & Tuscola.
Below are the counties that are near Clifford. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Clifford:
- Lapeer County (The home county of Clifford)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifford, with the one closest to Clifford listed first.
- Silverwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- North Branch
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Burnside
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Burnside is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
- Kings Mill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Kings Mill is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Mill
- Brown City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Barnes Lake - Millers Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Five Lakes
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Five Lakes is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Lakes
- Lum
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Lum is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lum
- Columbiaville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Otter Lake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Attica
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Lapeer
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Imlay City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Genesee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifford, with the one closest to Clifford listed first.
- Otisville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Russellville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Russellville is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Davison
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Genesee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Farrandville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Farrandville is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrandville
- Mount Morris
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Clio
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Beecher
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Beecher is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beecher
- Huron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifford, with the one closest to Clifford listed first.
- Bach
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Bach is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bach
- Owendale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Ubly
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Oakland County
- Thomas
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Thomas is located in Oakland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
- Saginaw County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifford, with the one closest to Clifford listed first.
- Reese
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Blumfield Corners
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Blumfield Corners is located in Saginaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blumfield Corners
- Frankenmuth
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifford, with the one closest to Clifford listed first.
- Yale
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Yale is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,861 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yale <1>
- Capac
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Brockway
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Brockway is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brockway
- Lesterville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lesterville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lesterville
- Allenton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Allenton is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenton
- Avoca
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Emmett
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Riley Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Riley Center is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riley Center
- Sanilac County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifford, with the one closest to Clifford listed first.
- Marlette
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Decker
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Decker is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decker
- Hemans
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hemans is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemans
- Juhl
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Juhl is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juhl
- Elmer
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Elmer is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmer
- Snover
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Snover is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snover
- Valley Center
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Valley Center is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Center
- Watertown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Watertown is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watertown
- Peck
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Peck is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peck
- Population from the 2020 Census: 588 people
- Melvin
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Melvin is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
- Cash
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Cash is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash
- Sandusky
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- 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>
- Speaker
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Speaker is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speaker
- Tuscola County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifford, with the one closest to Clifford listed first.
- Kingston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mayville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Wilmot
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Wilmot is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
- Fostoria
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fostoria is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fostoria
- Deford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Deford is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deford
- Juniata
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Juniata is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniata
- Caro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wahjamega
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wahjamega is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahjamega
- Millington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Cass City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Elmwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Elmwood is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood
- Watrousville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Watrousville is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watrousville
- Vassar
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Clifford, see our County-by-County Page for Clifford.
Cemeteries Near Clifford ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Clifford.
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 Clifford - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Clifford covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Clifford, with the one closest to Clifford listed first.
- St. Patricks Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- West Burlington Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Siple Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- North Branch - Burlington Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Marlette City Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- St. Elizabeth Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Elizabeth Catholic Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Elizabeth Catholic Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Marlette.
- The St. Elizabeth Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Elizabeth Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1592 <2>
- St. Agatha Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Westlawn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hager Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Kingston Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Kingston Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the east of Kingston.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #841 <2>
- Dayton Center Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (219 more) ...
- St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- McLeish Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLeish Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the McLeish Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the northeast of Marlette.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1051 <2>
- Rich Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
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 Clifford had a population of 306 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Clifford had a population of 323 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Clifford, with the one closest to Clifford listed first.
- North Branch
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Marlette
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Kingston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Burnside
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Burnside is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
- East Dayton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- East Dayton is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Dayton
- Mayville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Fostoria
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fostoria is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fostoria
- Wilmot
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Wilmot is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
- Kings Mill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Kings Mill is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Mill
- Brown City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Five Lakes
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Five Lakes is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Lakes
- Juhl
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Juhl is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juhl
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Deford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Deford is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deford
- Lum
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Lum is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lum
- Elmer
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Elmer is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmer
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Clifford. See our List of 1890's Communities around Clifford.
Newspapers Published in Clifford ...
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 88 newspapers that have been published in the area around Clifford.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Clifford, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Clifford.
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 helpful 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 Clifford:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Lapeer County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Genesee County
- Huron County
- Oakland County
- Saginaw County
- Saint Clair County
- Sanilac 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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Clifford) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Clifford, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |