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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 Crisp (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 Crisp. 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.

Crisp is located in Ottawa 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 Ottawa County: Allegan, Kent & Muskegon.

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

  • Ottawa County     (The home county of Crisp)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Crisp, with the one closest to Crisp listed first.
    • Noordeloos
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Noordeloos is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noordeloos
    • West Olive
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Waverly
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Waverly is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
    • Zeeland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Rusk
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Rusk is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rusk
    • Beechwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Beechwood is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood
    • Port Sheldon
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Port Sheldon is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Sheldon
    • Robinson
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Robinson is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
    • Agnew
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Agnew is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
    • Holland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • South Blendon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • South Blendon is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Blendon
    • Allendale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Bauer
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Bauer is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauer
  • Allegan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Crisp, with the one closest to Crisp listed first.
    • Graafschap
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Graafschap is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graafschap
    • Boyd
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Boyd is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
    • Fillmore
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Fillmore is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
    • Hamilton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Singapore ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Singapore is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Singapore
    • Burnips
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Burnips is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnips
      • Former name for Burnips:
      • Burnip's Corners
    • Diamond Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Diamond Springs is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Springs
    • New Salem
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • New Salem is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
    • Douglas
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Saugatuck
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Fennville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Dorr
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Ganges
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Ganges is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ganges
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Crisp, with the one closest to Crisp listed first.
    • Grandville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Beverly
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Beverly is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
    • Burlingame Heights
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Burlingame Heights is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame Heights
    • Byron Center
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Kinney
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Kinney is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinney
    • Walker
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • North Dorr
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • North Dorr is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dorr
    • Burlingame
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Burlingame is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
    • Clyde Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Clyde Park is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde Park
    • Galewood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Galewood is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galewood
    • Urbandale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Urbandale is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbandale
    • Wyoming
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Carlisle
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Carlisle is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
  • Muskegon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Crisp, with the one closest to Crisp listed first.
    • Fruitport
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Sullivan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Sullivan is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
    • Norton Shores
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Ravenna
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Muskegon Heights
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Roosevelt Park
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Morgan Corners
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Morgan Corners is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Corners
    • Slocum
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Slocum is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slocum
    • Muskegon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Wolf Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Wolf Lake is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
    • Canada Corners
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Canada Corners is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Corners
    • North Muskegon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Bailey
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Crisp ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Crisp.

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 Crisp - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Noordeloos Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Borculo Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • West Olive Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Olive Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • North Holland Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Rusk Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Ventura Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Roselawn Memorial Gardens
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • New Groningen Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Zeeland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Lake Shore Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Pilgrim Home Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrim Home Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Pilgrim Home Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Holland.
    • The Pilgrim Home Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Holland Twp. Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1371 <2>
  • Continue List   (206 more) ...
    • Vriesland Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Beaverdam Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Indian Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)

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.<3>

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

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

  • Olive Center
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Olive Center is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olive Center
  • New Holland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • New Holland is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Holland
  • Borculo
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Borculo is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borculo
  • Noordeloos
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Noordeloos is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noordeloos
  • West Olive
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Zeeland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Beaverdam
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Beaverdam is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaverdam
  • Holland
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Robinson
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Robinson is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
  • Agnew
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Agnew is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
  • Vriesland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Vriesland is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vriesland
  • South Blendon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • South Blendon is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Blendon
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Allendale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Graafschap
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Graafschap is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graafschap
    • Bauer
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Bauer is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauer

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

Newspapers Published in Crisp ...

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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Crisp.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Crisp, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Crisp.

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 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 Crisp:

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>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 Crisp, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Crisp) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.