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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 Commerce (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 Commerce. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Commerce is located in Oakland 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 Oakland County: Genesee, Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Washtenaw & Wayne.

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

  • Oakland County     (The home county of Commerce)
  • Genesee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Commerce, with the one closest to Commerce listed first.
    • Fenton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fenton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
      • Fenton is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,374 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fenton <2>
    • Lake Fenton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Lakeside
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Bayport Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Linden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Linden have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
      • Linden is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,954 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Linden <2>
    • Goodrich
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Argentine
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Argentine have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argentine
      • Argentine is located in Genesee County
    • Atlas
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atlas have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlas
      • Atlas is located in Genesee County
    • Grand Blanc
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Burton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Gaines
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Davison
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Davison have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davison
      • Davison is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,860 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Davison <2>
  • Lapeer County
  • Livingston County
  • Macomb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Commerce, with the one closest to Commerce listed first.
    • Depew ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Depew. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Depew
      • Depew is located in Macomb County
      • Depew has also been known as:
      • Depew Siding
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Depew
      • From Commerce to Depew
    • Shelby Village ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Shelby ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shelby. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
      • Shelby is located in Macomb County
      • Shelby has also been known as:
      • Shelby Crossing
      • Shelby Station
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Shelby
      • From Commerce to Shelby
    • Spinnings ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Spinnings. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spinnings
      • Spinnings is located in Macomb County
      • Spinnings has also been known as:
      • Spinning
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Spinnings
      • From Commerce to Spinnings
    • Sterling Heights
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sterling Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling Heights
      • Sterling Heights is located in Macomb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 131,709 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sterling Heights <2>
    • Utica
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Mount Vernon ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Center Line
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Center Line have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Line
      • Center Line is located in Macomb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,090 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Center Line <2>
    • Disco ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Dresden Village ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Crissmanville ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Grays' Mills ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Grays' Mills. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grays' Mills
      • Grays' Mills is located in Macomb County
      • Former names for Grays' Mills:
      • Clifton Mill
      • Clifton Village
      • Clifton
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Grays' Mills
      • From Commerce to Grays' Mills
  • Shiawassee County
  • Washtenaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Commerce, with the one closest to Commerce listed first.
    • Salem
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Emery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Emery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emery
      • Emery is located in Washtenaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Emery
      • From Commerce to Emery
    • Dixboro
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Barton Hills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barton Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton Hills
      • Barton Hills is located in Washtenaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
    • Ypsilanti
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Ann Arbor
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Delhi Mills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Delhi Mills. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi Mills
      • Delhi Mills is located in Washtenaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Delhi Mills
      • From Commerce to Delhi Mills
    • Dover
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Hudson Mills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Rawsonville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rawsonville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawsonville
      • Rawsonville is located in Washtenaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rawsonville
      • From Commerce to Rawsonville
    • Dexter
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Pittsfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pittsfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsfield
      • Pittsfield is located in Washtenaw County
      • Pittsfield has also been known as:
      • Pittsfield Village
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pittsfield
      • From Commerce to Pittsfield
  • Wayne County

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

Cemeteries Near Commerce ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Commerce.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Commerce, with the one closest to Commerce 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Commerce had a population of 200 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

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

Newspapers Published in Commerce ...

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 184 newspapers that have been published in the area around Commerce.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Commerce, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Commerce.

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 Commerce:

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

The official website for Oakland County: www.co.oakland.mi.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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 Commerce, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Commerce) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Commerce. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5910, Longitude: -83.4909       In this case, the coordinates for Commerce have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025