RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Michigan >> Clinton County >> De Witt >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Michigan

The Commemorative Quarter for Michigan





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 De Witt (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 De Witt. 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.

De Witt is located in Clinton 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 Clinton County: Eaton, Gratiot, Ingham, Ionia, Montcalm, Saginaw & Shiawassee.

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

  • Clinton County     (The home county of De Witt)
    • The following are listed by their distance from De Witt, with the one closest to De Witt listed first.
    • East DeWitt
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Clinton Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clinton Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton Village
      • Clinton Village is located in Clinton County
    • Gunnisonville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bath
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bath have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
      • Bath is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bath <2>
    • Price
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Price. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price
      • Price is located in Clinton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Price
      • From De Witt to Price
    • Saint Johns
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Johns have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
      • Saint Johns is located in Clinton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,904 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Johns <2>
    • Eagle
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Shepardsville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Fowler
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Westphalia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Ovid
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ovid have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ovid
      • Ovid is located in Clinton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,607 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ovid <2>
    • Duplain
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Eureka
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eureka have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
      • Eureka is located in Clinton County
  • Barry County
  • Eaton County
  • Gratiot County
  • Ingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from De Witt, with the one closest to De Witt listed first.
    • North Lansing
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Edgemont Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edgemont Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgemont Park
      • Edgemont Park is located in Ingham County
    • Lansing
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • East Lansing
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Lansing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lansing
      • East Lansing is located in Ingham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47,641 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Lansing <2>
    • Haslett
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haslett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haslett
      • Haslett is located in Ingham County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haslett <2>
    • Okemos
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Holt
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt
      • Holt is located in Ingham County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holt <2>
    • Meridian
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Meridian. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
      • Meridian is located in Ingham County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Meridian
      • From De Witt to Meridian
    • Williamston
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Mason
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mason have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
      • Mason is located in Ingham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,389 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mason <2>
    • Pollok ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Dansville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Webberville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webberville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webberville
      • Webberville is located in Ingham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,300 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webberville <2>
  • Ionia County
  • Jackson County
  • Livingston County
  • Montcalm County
    • The following are listed by their distance from De Witt, with the one closest to De Witt listed first.
    • Carson City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carson City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson City
      • Carson City is located in Montcalm County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,105 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carson City <2>
    • Butternut
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Saginaw County
  • Shiawassee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from De Witt, with the one closest to De Witt listed first.
    • Laingsburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laingsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laingsburg
      • Laingsburg is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,283 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Laingsburg <2>
    • Shaftsburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Perry
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Burton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Morrice
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morrice have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrice
      • Morrice is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 906 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morrice <2>
    • Five Points
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Smith Crossing
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Owosso
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Nicholson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nicholson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholson
      • Nicholson is located in Shiawassee County
    • Middletown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middletown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
      • Middletown is located in Shiawassee County
    • Corunna
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corunna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
      • Corunna is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,320 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Corunna <2>
    • Bancroft
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bancroft have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
      • Bancroft is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 494 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bancroft <2>
    • Henderson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Henderson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson
      • Henderson is located in Shiawassee County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henderson <2>

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

Cemeteries Near De Witt ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of De Witt.

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

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

  • DeWitt City Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Hurd Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hurd Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hurd Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gunnisonville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gunnisonville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gunnisonville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wilsey Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilsey Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilsey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Alward Lake Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Alward Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Alward Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • South Riley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South Riley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South Riley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wacousta Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • St. David's Memorial Garden
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (260 more) ...
    • Merihew Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Merihew Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Merihew Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Georgia Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Georgia Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Georgia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Reed Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reed Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reed Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 De Witt had a population of 300 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, De Witt had a population of 4,833 people.

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

  • Gunnisonville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • South Riley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Riley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Riley
    • South Riley is located in Clinton County
  • North Lansing
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Bath
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bath have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
    • Bath is located in Clinton County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bath <2>
  • Wacousta
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wacousta have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wacousta
    • Wacousta is located in Clinton County
  • Lansing
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Price
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Price. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price
    • Price is located in Clinton County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Price
    • From De Witt to Price
  • Riley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riley
    • Riley is located in Clinton County
  • Millett
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millett
    • Millett is located in Eaton County
    • Millett has also been known as:
    • Milletts
  • Okemos
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Saint Johns
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Johns have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
    • Saint Johns is located in Clinton County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,904 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Johns <2>
  • Eagle
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Grand Ledge
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Ledge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Ledge
      • Grand Ledge is located in Eaton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,881 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grand Ledge <2>
    • Packard
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Packard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packard
      • Packard is located in Eaton County
    • Laingsburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laingsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laingsburg
      • Laingsburg is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,283 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Laingsburg <2>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of De Witt ...

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 De Witt.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of De Witt. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of De Witt and those printed in the larger area surrounding De Witt.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<6> of De Witt.

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 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 De Witt:

The official website for De Witt: www.dewittmi.org/

The official website for Clinton County: www.clinton-county.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 De Witt, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- De Witt) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in De Witt. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.8423, Longitude: -84.5691    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025