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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 Custer (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 Custer. 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 and hospitals 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.

Custer is located in Mason 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 Mason County: Lake, Manistee, Newaygo & Oceana.

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

  • Mason County     (The home county of Custer)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Custer, with the one closest to Custer listed first.
    • Elm Flats ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elm Flats. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Flats
      • Elm Flats is located in Mason County
    • Scottville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottville
      • Scottville is located in Mason County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,209 people
      • Scottville has also been known as:
      • Mason Center
      • Sweetland
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scottville <2>
    • Sugar Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
      • Sugar Grove is located in Mason County
      • Sugar Grove has also been known as:
      • Clark's Corners
    • Walhalla
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Batcheller ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Batcheller have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batcheller
      • Batcheller is located in Mason County
      • Batcheller has also been known as:
      • Turtle Lake
    • Tallman
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tallman have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallman
      • Tallman is located in Mason County
      • Tallman has also been known as:
      • Weaver
    • Amber
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amber
      • Amber is located in Mason County
      • Amber has also been known as:
      • Slaughtburg
    • Fountain
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Wiley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiley
      • Wiley is located in Mason County
      • Wiley has also been known as:
      • Wileys
    • Free Soil
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Carr
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carr
      • Carr is located in Mason County
      • Carr has also been known as:
      • Carr Settlement
      • McCumber Settlement
    • Meisenheimer Corners
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meisenheimer Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meisenheimer Corners
      • Meisenheimer Corners is located in Mason County
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Custer, with the one closest to Custer listed first.
    • Sauble
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sauble have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sauble
      • Sauble is located in Lake County
    • Peacock
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peacock
      • Peacock is located in Lake County
    • Baldwin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Marlborough
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marlborough have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlborough
      • Marlborough is located in Lake County
    • Irons
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irons have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irons
      • Irons is located in Lake County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irons <2>
    • Idlewild
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idlewild
      • Idlewild is located in Lake County
    • Nirvana
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nirvana
      • Nirvana is located in Lake County
    • Luther
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Chase
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Manistee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Custer, with the one closest to Custer listed first.
    • Filer City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Filer City
      • Filer City is located in Manistee County
    • Oak Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
      • Oak Hill is located in Manistee County
      • Oak Hill has also been known as:
      • Oakhill
    • Eastlake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastlake
      • Eastlake is located in Manistee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 509 people
    • Manistee
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Udell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Udell
      • Udell is located in Manistee County
    • Dublin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dublin
      • Dublin is located in Manistee County
    • Parkdale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkdale
      • Parkdale is located in Manistee County
    • Wellston
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Douglas
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Douglas have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
      • Douglas is located in Manistee County
    • Brethren
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brethren have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brethren
      • Brethren is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brethren <2>
    • Chief Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chief Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chief Lake
      • Chief Lake is located in Manistee County
    • Norwalk
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norwalk have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
      • Norwalk is located in Manistee County
  • Newaygo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Custer, with the one closest to Custer listed first.
    • Bitely
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Woodland Park
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Park
      • Woodland Park is located in Newaygo County
    • Huber
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huber
      • Huber is located in Newaygo County
    • Brohman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brohman
      • Brohman is located in Newaygo County
      • Former names for Brohman:
      • Dingman
      • Otia
    • Aetna
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aetna
      • Aetna is located in Newaygo County
  • Oceana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Custer, with the one closest to Custer listed first.
    • Pentwater
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • French Town
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for French Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Town
      • French Town is located in Oceana County
    • Walkerville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Elbridge
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elbridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbridge
      • Elbridge is located in Oceana County
    • Cobmoosa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cobmoosa. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobmoosa
      • Cobmoosa is located in Oceana County
      • Cobmoosa has also been known as:
      • Cob Moo Sa
    • Hart
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hart have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hart
      • Hart is located in Oceana County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,089 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hart <2>
    • Mears
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mears have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mears
      • Mears is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mears <2>
    • Shelby
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Ferry
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferry
      • Ferry is located in Oceana County
    • Hesperia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hesperia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hesperia
      • Hesperia is located in Oceana County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 936 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hesperia <2>
    • New Era
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Era have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Era
      • New Era is located in Oceana County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 440 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Era <2>
  • Wexford County
    • Hoxeyville ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hoxeyville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoxeyville
      • Hoxeyville is located in Wexford County
      • Hoxeyville has also been known as:
      • Clay Hill

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

Newspapers Published in Custer ...

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 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around Custer.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Custer, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Custer.

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 websites either 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 Custer:

Cemeteries Near Custer ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Custer.

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

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

  • Custer Riverside - St. Mary's Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Emmanuel Lutheran Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Sugar Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Brookside Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Rickey Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Lakeside Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Tallman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Bachellor Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Batchelor Christ Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Batchelor Christ Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Batchelor Christ Cemetery
  • Towns Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Fountain Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Center Riverton Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (118 more) ...
    • Riverton Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverton Cemetery
    • St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery
    • South Victory 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Custer had a population of 200 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Custer had a population of 284 people.

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

  • Scottville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottville
    • Scottville is located in Mason County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,209 people
    • Scottville has also been known as:
    • Mason Center
    • Sweetland
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scottville <2>
  • Sugar Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
    • Sugar Grove is located in Mason County
    • Sugar Grove has also been known as:
    • Clark's Corners
  • Tallman
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tallman have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallman
    • Tallman is located in Mason County
    • Tallman has also been known as:
    • Weaver
  • Batcheller ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Batcheller have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batcheller
    • Batcheller is located in Mason County
    • Batcheller has also been known as:
    • Turtle Lake
  • Amber
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amber
    • Amber is located in Mason County
    • Amber has also been known as:
    • Slaughtburg
  • Riverton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton
    • Riverton is located in Mason County
  • Wiley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiley
    • Wiley is located in Mason County
    • Wiley has also been known as:
    • Wileys
  • Fountain
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Fern
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fern have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern
    • Fern is located in Mason County
    • Fern has also been known as:
    • Adamsville
  • Free Soil
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Ludington
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Buttersville ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buttersville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buttersville
    • Buttersville is located in Mason County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Crystal Valley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Valley
      • Crystal Valley is located in Oceana County
    • Sauble
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sauble have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sauble
      • Sauble is located in Lake County
    • Pentwater
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)

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

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

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>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 from Point A (ie- Custer) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Custer. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.9520, Longitude: -86.2186    
<5>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.
<6>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 Custer, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024