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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 Deford (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 Deford. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Deford is located in Tuscola 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 Tuscola County: Bay, Genesee, Huron, Lapeer, Saginaw & Sanilac.

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

  • Tuscola County     (The home county of Deford)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Deford, with the one closest to Deford listed first.
    • Wilmot
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Cass City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cass City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cass City
      • Cass City is located in Tuscola County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,273 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cass City <2>
    • Elmwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Kingston
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Gagetown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gagetown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gagetown
      • Gagetown is located in Tuscola County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gagetown <2>
    • Caro
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Colling
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Colling. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colling
      • Colling is located in Tuscola County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Colling
      • From Deford to Colling
    • Wahjamega
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wahjamega. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahjamega
      • Wahjamega is located in Tuscola County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wahjamega
      • From Deford to Wahjamega
    • Mayville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Unionville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Akron
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Juniata
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairgrove
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairgrove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairgrove
      • Fairgrove is located in Tuscola County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 528 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fairgrove <2>
  • Bay County
    • Munger
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Munger have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munger
      • Munger is located in Bay County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Munger <2>
  • Genesee County
    • Otisville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otisville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otisville
      • Otisville is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 824 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Otisville <2>
  • Huron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Deford, with the one closest to Deford listed first.
    • Bach
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Owendale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Owendale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owendale
      • Owendale is located in Huron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Owendale <2>
    • Ubly
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Kilmanagh
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Sebewaing
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Elkton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Pigeon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Bad Axe
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bad Axe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bad Axe
      • Bad Axe is located in Huron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,889 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bad Axe <2>
    • Valley Island
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Berne
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berne. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berne
      • Berne is located in Huron County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Berne
      • From Deford to Berne
    • Bay Port
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Ora Labora
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ora Labora. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora Labora
      • Ora Labora is located in Huron County
      • Ora Labora has also been known as:
      • Ora et Labora
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ora Labora
      • From Deford to Ora Labora
    • Ruth
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ruth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
      • Ruth is located in Huron County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ruth <2>
  • Lapeer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Deford, with the one closest to Deford listed first.
    • Clifford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clifford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
      • Clifford is located in Lapeer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 323 people
    • Silverwood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silverwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverwood
      • Silverwood is located in Lapeer County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Silverwood <2>
    • North Branch
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Burnside
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Burnside. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
      • Burnside is located in Lapeer County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Burnside
      • From Deford to Burnside
    • Barnes Lake - Millers Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Brown City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Otter Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otter Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Lake
      • Otter Lake is located in Lapeer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 377 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Otter Lake <2>
    • Kings Mill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Columbiaville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Lum
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Saginaw County
  • Sanilac County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Deford, with the one closest to Deford listed first.
    • Hemans
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hemans. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemans
      • Hemans is located in Sanilac County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hemans
      • From Deford to Hemans
    • Decker
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Snover
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Argyle
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Elmer
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Marlette
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Juhl
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Juhl. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juhl
      • Juhl is located in Sanilac County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Juhl
      • From Deford to Juhl
    • Tyre
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Sandusky
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Berkshire ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berkshire. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkshire
      • Berkshire is located in Sanilac County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Berkshire
      • From Deford to Berkshire
    • Watertown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Deckerville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deckerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deckerville
      • Deckerville is located in Sanilac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 775 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deckerville <2>
    • McGregor
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for McGregor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGregor
      • McGregor is located in Sanilac County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to McGregor
      • From Deford to McGregor

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

Cemeteries Near Deford ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Deford.

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

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

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 Deford had a population of 50 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Wilmot
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Kingston
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Cass City
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cass City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cass City
    • Cass City is located in Tuscola County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,273 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cass City <2>
  • Elmwood
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Shabbona
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shabbona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shabbona
    • Shabbona is located in Sanilac County
  • Ellington
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellington
    • Ellington is located in Tuscola County
  • East Dayton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Dayton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Dayton
    • East Dayton is located in Tuscola County
  • Gagetown
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gagetown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gagetown
    • Gagetown is located in Tuscola County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gagetown <2>
  • Wickware
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wickware have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickware
    • Wickware is located in Sanilac County
  • Colwood
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colwood
    • Colwood is located in Tuscola County
  • Caro
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Wahjamega
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wahjamega. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahjamega
    • Wahjamega is located in Tuscola County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Wahjamega
    • From Deford to Wahjamega
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Clifford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clifford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
      • Clifford is located in Lapeer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 323 people
    • Argyle
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Cumber
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cumber have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumber
      • Cumber is located in Sanilac County

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

Newspapers Published in Deford ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Deford.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Deford, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Deford.

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 Deford:

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

The official website for Tuscola County: www.tuscolacounty.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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Deford) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Deford. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.5135, Longitude: -83.1923    
<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 Deford, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025