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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 Dean (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 Dean. 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 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 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.

Dean is located in Midland 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 Midland County: Bay, Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot, Isabella & Saginaw.

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

  • Midland County     (The home county of Dean)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.
    • Midland
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Averill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Averill is located in Midland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Averill
    • Sanford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Ryan
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Ryan is located in Midland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan
    • Hope
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Porter
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Porter is located in Midland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
    • Redstone
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Redstone is located in Midland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
    • Edenville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Edenville is located in Midland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edenville
    • North Bradley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • North Bradley is located in Midland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bradley
    • Alamando
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Alamando is located in Midland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamando
    • Oil City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Oil City is located in Midland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
    • Coleman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Arenac County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.
    • Saganing
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Saganing is located in Arenac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saganing
    • Whites Beach
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Whites Beach is located in Arenac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whites Beach
    • Standish
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Bay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.
    • Fisherville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Fisherville is located in Bay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisherville
    • Auburn
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Willard
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Willard is located in Bay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
    • Duel
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Duel is located in Bay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duel
    • Seidlers
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Seidlers is located in Bay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seidlers
    • Amelith
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Amelith is located in Bay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelith
    • Frankenlust
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Frankenlust is located in Bay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankenlust
    • Kawkawlin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Salzburg ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Salzburg is located in Bay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salzburg
    • Brooks ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Brooks is located in Bay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
    • Wenona ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Wenona is located in Bay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wenona
    • West Bay City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • West Bay City is located in Bay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bay City
      • West Bay City has also been known as:
      • West Bank City
  • Gladwin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.
    • Rhodes
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Rhodes is located in Gladwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes
    • Highwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Highwood is located in Gladwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highwood
    • Beaverton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • White Star
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • White Star is located in Gladwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Star
    • Wooden Shoe Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Wooden Shoe Village is located in Gladwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooden Shoe Village
    • Gladwin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Gratiot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.
    • North Wheeler
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • North Wheeler is located in Gratiot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wheeler
    • Wheeler
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Wheeler is located in Gratiot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
    • Breckenridge
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Edgewood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Edgewood is located in Gratiot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
    • Saint Louis
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Sickles
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Sickles is located in Gratiot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sickles
    • Alma
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Alma is located in Gratiot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,807 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alma <1>
    • Forest Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Forest Hill is located in Gratiot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hill
    • Ithaca
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • North Star
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • North Star is located in Gratiot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Star
      • North Star has also been known as:
      • Northstar
    • Ashley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Elwell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Isabella County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.
    • Alembic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Alembic is located in Isabella County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alembic
    • Coe
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Coe is located in Isabella County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coe
    • Shepherd
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Loomis
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Loomis is located in Isabella County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loomis
    • Jordan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jordan is located in Isabella County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
    • Mount Pleasant
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Summerton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Summerton is located in Isabella County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerton
    • Rosebush
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Crawford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Crawford is located in Isabella County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
  • Saginaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.
    • Freeland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Iva
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Iva is located in Saginaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iva
    • Dice
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Dice is located in Saginaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dice
    • Frost
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Frost is located in Saginaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
    • Hemlock
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Merrill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Orr
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Orr is located in Saginaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
    • Kochville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Kochville is located in Saginaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kochville
    • Shields
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Shields is located in Saginaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shields
    • Paines
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Paines is located in Saginaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paines
    • Swan Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Swan Creek is located in Saginaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Creek
    • Carrollton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Carrollton is located in Saginaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrollton
  • Tuscola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.
    • Richville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Gilford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Gilford is located in Tuscola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilford
    • Denmark Junction
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Denmark Junction is located in Tuscola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark Junction

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

Cemeteries Near Dean ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dean.

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

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

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

  • Arrance Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Poseyville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Midland City Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Westside Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Anthony Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Homer Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • St. Patrick Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Laporte Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Vasold Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (204 more) ...
    • Larkin Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jacquith Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Wayne Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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.<3>

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

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

  • Midland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Fisherville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Fisherville is located in Bay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisherville
  • Freeland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Auburn
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Willard
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Willard is located in Bay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
  • Averill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Averill is located in Midland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Averill
  • Frost
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Frost is located in Saginaw County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
  • Sanford
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Saint Elmo
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Saint Elmo is located in Midland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
  • Porter
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Porter is located in Midland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
  • Merrill
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Frankenlust
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Frankenlust is located in Bay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankenlust
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Hope
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Salzburg ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Salzburg is located in Bay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salzburg
    • Kawkawlin
      (14 miles [22.5 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 Dean. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dean.

Newspapers Published in Dean ...

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 152 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dean.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dean, 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 Dean.

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 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 Dean:

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 Dean, 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' (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- Dean) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.