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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 Cooks Corners (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 Cooks Corners. 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.

Name Variations for Cooks Corners ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

  • A typical abbreviation for Cooks Corners: Cooks Cors.
  • While the name of this community is Cooks Corners, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Cooks Corners may originally have been Cook's Corners.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Cooks Corners might be written as Cook Corners.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Cooks Corners. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Cooks Corners.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 doctors and 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.

Cooks Corners is located in Ionia 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 Ionia County: Barry, Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Kent & Montcalm.

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

  • Ionia County     (The home county of Cooks Corners)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooks Corners, with the one closest to Cooks Corners listed first.
    • Belding
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Smyrna
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Orleans
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Orleans is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
    • Shiloh
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Shiloh is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
    • Woods Corners
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Woods Corners is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Corners
    • Saranac
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Ionia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • South Ionia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • South Ionia is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ionia
    • Palo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Palo is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palo
    • Elmdale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Elmdale is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
    • Clarksville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Lyons
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Barry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooks Corners, with the one closest to Cooks Corners listed first.
    • Freeport
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Woodland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Woodland is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 449 people
    • Middleville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Irving
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Irving is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
    • Hastings
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooks Corners, with the one closest to Cooks Corners listed first.
    • Westphalia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Fowler
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Maple Rapids
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Maple Rapids is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Rapids
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 671 people
    • Eagle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Eaton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooks Corners, with the one closest to Cooks Corners listed first.
    • Woodbury
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Woodbury is located in Eaton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbury
    • Sunfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Mulliken
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Gratiot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooks Corners, with the one closest to Cooks Corners listed first.
    • Sumner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Sumner is located in Gratiot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumner
    • Middleton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Elm Hall
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Elm Hall is located in Gratiot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Hall
    • Riverdale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Perrinton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Perrinton is located in Gratiot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrinton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 391 people
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooks Corners, with the one closest to Cooks Corners listed first.
    • Grattan
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Grattan is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grattan
    • Parnell
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Parnell is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnell
    • Harvard
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Harvard is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard
    • Cannonsburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Lowell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Segwun
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Segwun is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Segwun
    • Sheffield
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Sheffield is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield
    • Ada
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Forest Hills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Forest Hills is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
    • Rockford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Edgerton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Edgerton is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
    • Alto
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Mecosta County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooks Corners, with the one closest to Cooks Corners listed first.
    • Morley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Rustford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Rustford is located in Mecosta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rustford
  • Montcalm County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooks Corners, with the one closest to Cooks Corners listed first.
    • Greenville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Eureka Place
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Eureka Place is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Place
    • Amsden
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Amsden is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsden
    • Fenwick
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Fenwick is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenwick
    • Gowen
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Sheridan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Sidney
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Langston
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Langston is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langston
    • Trufant
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Stanton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Vickeryville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Vickeryville is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vickeryville
    • Butternut
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Butternut is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butternut
  • Muskegon County
  • Newaygo County
    • Sun
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Sun is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun
  • Ottawa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooks Corners, with the one closest to Cooks Corners listed first.
    • Wright
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Wright is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
    • Marne
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Jenison
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Cooks Corners ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cooks Corners.

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 Cooks Corners - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Cooks Corners covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Otisco Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Smyrna Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • River Ridge Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Belding Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Rest Haven Memorial Gardens
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Mason Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Ashley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Greene Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greene Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Greene Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<4> to the east of Belding.
    • The Greene Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Green Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1117465 <3>
  • Eureka Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Forest Home Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (271 more) ...
    • Alton Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Marble Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Greenop Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)

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 Cooks Corners in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Cooks Corners.

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

  • Belding
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Smyrna
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Grattan
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Grattan is located in Kent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grattan
  • Alton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Alton is located in Kent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
  • Orleans
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Orleans is located in Ionia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
  • Greenville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Fallassburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Fallassburg is located in Kent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallassburg
  • Parnell
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Parnell is located in Kent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnell
  • Shiloh
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Shiloh is located in Ionia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
  • Woods Corners
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Woods Corners is located in Ionia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Corners
  • Amsden
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Amsden is located in Montcalm County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsden
  • Cannonsburg
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Fenwick
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Fenwick is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenwick
    • Harvard
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Harvard is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard
    • Lowell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Cooks Corners ...

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 226 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cooks Corners.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cooks Corners, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cooks Corners.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Cooks Corners:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<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 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>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 from Point A (ie- Cooks Corners) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Cooks Corners, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.