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 Crystal Beach (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 Crystal Beach. 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 Crystal Beach ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Crystal Beach: Crystal Bch.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Crystal Beach. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Crystal Beach.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.
Crystal Beach is located in Branch 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 Branch County: LaGrange (IN), Steuben (IN), Calhoun, Hillsdale & Saint Joseph.
Below are the counties that are near Crystal Beach. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Crystal Beach:
- Branch County (The home county of Crystal Beach)
- The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Beach, with the one closest to Crystal Beach listed first.
- Canada Shores
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Canada Shores is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Shores
- Fisher
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Fisher is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
- Coldwater
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Trailtree Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Trailtree Village is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailtree Village
- Ray
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hatmaker
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hatmaker is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- Quincy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Batavia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Batavia is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Gilead
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Gilead is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Bronson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Girard
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Girard is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard
- Hodunk
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Hodunk is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodunk
- Matteson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Matteson is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matteson
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Beach, with the one closest to Crystal Beach listed first.
- Tekonsha
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Burlington
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Burlington is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 277 people
- Athens
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Homer
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- East Leroy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- East Leroy is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Leroy
- Joppa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Joppa is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa
- Marshall
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Albion
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Ceresco
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Ceresco is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceresco
- Marengo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Marengo is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
- Sonoma
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sonoma is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonoma
- West Leroy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- West Leroy is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leroy
- Hillsdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Beach, with the one closest to Crystal Beach listed first.
- Montgomery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Montgomery is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
- Reading
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Camden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Allen
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Litchfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hillsdale
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Steamburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Steamburg is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steamburg
- Jonesville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Frontier
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Frontier is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frontier
- Osseo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Ransom
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Ransom is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ransom
- Shadyside
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Shadyside is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadyside
- Mosherville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mosherville is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosherville
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Beach, with the one closest to Crystal Beach listed first.
- Concord
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hanover
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Kalamazoo County
- Fulton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fulton is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Saint Joseph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Beach, with the one closest to Crystal Beach listed first.
- Burr Oak
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Colon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Colon is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,155 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colon <1>
- Fawn River
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Fawn River is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn River
- Findley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Findley is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Findley
- Fairfax
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Fairfax is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax
- Factoryville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Factoryville is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Factoryville
- Leonidas
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Sturgis
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Nottawa
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Wasepi
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Wasepi is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasepi
- Mendon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Klingers
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Klingers is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klingers
- Bluff Beach
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Bluff Beach is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Beach
- DeKalb County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Beach, with the one closest to Crystal Beach listed first.
- Ashley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Fairfield Center
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Fairfield Center is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Center
- Butler
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Waterloo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Corunna
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Corunna is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Moore
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Moore is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore
- LaGrange County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Beach, with the one closest to Crystal Beach listed first.
- Greenfield Mills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- Brighton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Brighton is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Brushy Prairie
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Brushy Prairie is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Prairie
- Mongo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Stroh
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Stroh is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroh
- Plato
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Plato is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato
- Gravel Beach
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Gravel Beach is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Beach
- Howe
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- LaGrange
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- South Milford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- South Milford is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Milford
- Valentine
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- Wolcottville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Seyberts
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Seyberts is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyberts
- Noble County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Beach, with the one closest to Crystal Beach listed first.
- Wakeville Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wakeville Village is located in Noble County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakeville Village
- Kendallville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Steuben County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Beach, with the one closest to Crystal Beach listed first.
- Jamestown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jamestown is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Fremont
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Ray
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ray is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Clear Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Clear Lake is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- York
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- York is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Orland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Angola
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Alvarado
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Alvarado is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- Russels Point
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Russels Point is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russels Point
- Hamilton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Hamilton is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,595 people
- Hudson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Williams County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Beach, with the one closest to Crystal Beach listed first.
- Northwest
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Northwest is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwest
- Columbia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Columbia is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia
- Cooney
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cooney is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooney
- Ainger
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ainger is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ainger
- Edon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Edon is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 807 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edon <1>
- Jim Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Jim Town is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jim Town
- Blakeslee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pioneer
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Holiday City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Holiday City is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
- Montpelier
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Denmark ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Denmark is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Kunkle
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kunkle is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kunkle
- Edgerton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Crystal Beach, see our County-by-County Page for Crystal Beach.
Cemeteries Near Crystal Beach ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Crystal Beach.
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 Crystal Beach - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Crystal Beach covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Crystal Beach, with the one closest to Crystal Beach listed first.
- Sorter Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Wilson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Brown Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lester Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Lawrence Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Knauss Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Munday Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Amish Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Lockwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hultz Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- California Corners Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Fisher Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (325 more) ...
- Mason Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mason Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the southeast of Coldwater.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1032 <3>
- Ammerman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Card Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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>
While we didn't find Crystal Beach in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Crystal Beach.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Crystal Beach, with the one closest to Crystal Beach listed first.
- Algansee
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Algansee is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algansee
- California
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- California is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California
- Bethel
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Bethel is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- East Gilead
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Gilead is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gilead
- Coldwater
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Ray
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ray is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Hatmaker
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hatmaker is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- Quincy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Batavia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Batavia is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Gilead
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Gilead is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Nevada Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Nevada Mills is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevada Mills
- Clear Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Clear Lake is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Montgomery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Montgomery is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
- Inverness
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Inverness is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Reading
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Crystal Beach. See our List of 1890's Communities around Crystal Beach.
Newspapers Published in Crystal Beach ...
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 139 newspapers that have been published in the area around Crystal Beach.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Crystal Beach, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Crystal Beach.
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 Crystal Beach:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Branch County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Hillsdale County
- Jackson County
- Kalamazoo County
- Saint Joseph County
- DeKalb County
- LaGrange County
- Noble County
- Steuben County
- Williams 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> | 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- Crystal Beach) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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> | 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 Crystal Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |