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 Dennison (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 Dennison. 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 doctors 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.
Dennison is located in Ottawa 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 Ottawa County: Allegan, Kent & Muskegon.
Below are the counties that are near Dennison. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dennison:
- Ottawa County (The home county of Dennison)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dennison, with the one closest to Dennison listed first.
- Coopersville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Eastmanville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Eastmanville is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastmanville
- Nunica
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Conklin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lamont
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lamont is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
- Allendale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Robinson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Robinson is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
- Marne
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Rusk
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Rusk is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rusk
- Wright
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Wright is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
- Spring Lake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Bauer
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bauer is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauer
- Allegan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dennison, with the one closest to Dennison listed first.
- Graafschap
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Graafschap is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graafschap
- New Salem
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- New Salem is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- Boyd
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Boyd is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
- Burnips
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Burnips is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnips
- Former name for Burnips:
- Burnip's Corners
- Fillmore
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Fillmore is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
- Diamond Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Diamond Springs is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Springs
- Hamilton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Dorr
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Moline
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Moline is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moline
- Singapore ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Singapore is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Singapore
- Saugatuck
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Hilliards
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hilliards is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilliards
- Kent County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dennison, with the one closest to Dennison listed first.
- Kinney
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Kinney is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinney
- Lisbon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lisbon is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
- Walker
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Casnovia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Kent City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sparta
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Comstock Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Grandville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Beverly
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Beverly is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
- Burlingame Heights
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Burlingame Heights is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame Heights
- Galewood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Galewood is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galewood
- Grand Rapids
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Montcalm County
- Pierson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Muskegon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dennison, with the one closest to Dennison listed first.
- Ravenna
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Sullivan
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Sullivan is located in Muskegon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
- Fruitport
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Morgan Corners
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Morgan Corners is located in Muskegon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Corners
- Slocum
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Slocum is located in Muskegon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slocum
- Canada Corners
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Canada Corners is located in Muskegon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Corners
- Wolf Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Wolf Lake is located in Muskegon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
- Norton Shores
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Muskegon Heights
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bailey
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Roosevelt Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Muskegon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Newaygo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dennison, with the one closest to Dennison listed first.
- Ashland
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Ashland is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Bridgeton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Bridgeton is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Grant
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sitka
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Sitka is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
- Sun
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sun is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun
- Bishop
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Bishop is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Brookside
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Brookside is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
- Newaygo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Reeman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Reeman is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeman
- Fremont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Fremont is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,102 people
- Former name for Fremont:
- Fremont Center
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fremont <1>
- Croton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Croton is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croton
- Riverview
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Riverview is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Dennison, see our County-by-County Page for Dennison.
Cemeteries Near Dennison ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dennison.
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 Dennison - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Dennison covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Dennison, with the one closest to Dennison listed first.
- St. Michael's Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Coopersville - Polkton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopersville - Polkton Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Coopersville - Polkton Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Coopersville.
- The Coopersville - Polkton Cemetery has also been known as:
- Coopersville Cemetery
- Polkton Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #312 <2>
- Ottawa Center Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Robinson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Eastmanville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Maple Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Allendale Twp. Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Maplewood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Nunica Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Elmwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- St. Mary's Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Sullivan Twp. Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (232 more) ...
- McNitt Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rusk Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Marne Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Dennison had a population of 25 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Dennison, with the one closest to Dennison listed first.
- Coopersville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Eastmanville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Eastmanville is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastmanville
- Nunica
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Lamont
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lamont is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
- Conklin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Robinson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Robinson is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
- Allendale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Pearline
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pearline is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearline
- Reno
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Reno is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
- Sullivan
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Sullivan is located in Muskegon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
- Herrington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Herrington is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrington
- Ravenna
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Tallmadge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Tallmadge is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallmadge
- Wright
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Wright is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
- Harrisburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Harrisburg is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Dennison. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dennison.
Newspapers Published in Dennison ...
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 81 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dennison.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dennison, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dennison.
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 Dennison:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Ottawa County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegan County
- Kent County
- Montcalm County
- Muskegon County
- Newaygo 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> | 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 Dennison, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Dennison) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |