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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 Douglas (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 Douglas. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

Douglas is located in Allegan 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 Allegan County: Barry, Kalamazoo, Kent, Ottawa & Van Buren.

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

  • Allegan County     (The home county of Douglas)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
    • Saugatuck
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saugatuck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saugatuck
      • Saugatuck is located in Allegan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saugatuck <2>
    • Singapore ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Singapore have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Singapore
      • Singapore is located in Allegan County
    • Ganges
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ganges
      • Ganges is located in Allegan County
    • Fennville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Graafschap
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graafschap
      • Graafschap is located in Allegan County
    • Glenn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Fillmore
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
      • Fillmore is located in Allegan County
    • Glenn Shores
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Shores
      • Glenn Shores is located in Allegan County
      • Glenn Shores has also been known as:
      • Glenn Stores
    • Spring Grove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
      • Spring Grove is located in Allegan County
    • Hamilton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Glenn Haven Shores
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Haven Shores
      • Glenn Haven Shores is located in Allegan County
      • Glenn Haven Shores has also been known as:
      • Hollywood
    • Cedar Bluff
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Bluff
      • Cedar Bluff is located in Allegan County
  • Berrien County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
    • Paw Paw Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paw Paw Lake
      • Paw Paw Lake is located in Berrien County
    • Lake Michigan Beach
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Michigan Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Michigan Beach
      • Lake Michigan Beach is located in Berrien County
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
    • North Dorr
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Dorr have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dorr
      • North Dorr is located in Kent County
    • Byron Center
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Corinth
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corinth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
      • Corinth is located in Kent County
    • Grandville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Carlisle
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carlisle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
      • Carlisle is located in Kent County
    • Burlingame Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame Heights
      • Burlingame Heights is located in Kent County
    • Burlingame
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
      • Burlingame is located in Kent County
    • Cutlerville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cutlerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutlerville
      • Cutlerville is located in Kent County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cutlerville <2>
  • Ottawa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
    • Macatawa
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Holland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Beechwood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beechwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood
      • Beechwood is located in Ottawa County
    • Waverly
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waverly have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
      • Waverly is located in Ottawa County
    • Zeeland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Noordeloos
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noordeloos
      • Noordeloos is located in Ottawa County
    • Drenthe
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Drenthe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenthe
      • Drenthe is located in Ottawa County
    • Port Sheldon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Sheldon
      • Port Sheldon is located in Ottawa County
    • West Olive
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Olive have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Olive
      • West Olive is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Olive <2>
    • Forest Grove Station
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove Station
      • Forest Grove Station is located in Ottawa County
    • South Blendon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Blendon
      • South Blendon is located in Ottawa County
    • Agnew
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
      • Agnew is located in Ottawa County
  • Van Buren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
    • Kibbie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibbie
      • Kibbie is located in Van Buren County
    • Lacota
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacota
      • Lacota is located in Van Buren County
    • South Haven
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Bloomingdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Grand Junction
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Breedsville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Bangor
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
      • Bangor is located in Van Buren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,808 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bangor <2>
    • Covert
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Gobles
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Glendale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
      • Glendale is located in Van Buren County
    • Fish Corners
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Corners
      • Fish Corners is located in Van Buren County
    • Kendall
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
      • Kendall is located in Van Buren County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Douglas ...

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 120 newspapers that have been published in the area around Douglas.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Douglas. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Douglas and those printed in the larger area surrounding Douglas.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Douglas.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Douglas:

Cemeteries Near Douglas ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Douglas.

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

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

  • Douglas Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Douglas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Douglas Cemetery
  • Douglas Annex Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Douglas Annex Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Douglas Annex Cemetery
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
  • Gibson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gibson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gibson Cemetery
  • Taylor Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Taylor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Taylor Cemetery
  • Loomis Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Loomis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Loomis Cemetery
  • Hutchins Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hutchins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hutchins Cemetery
  • Plummerville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Plummerville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Plummerville Cemetery
  • Fennville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fennville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fennville Cemetery
  • Manlius Twp. Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • East Saugatuck Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Saugatuck Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Saugatuck Cemetery
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Grove Cemetery
  • Continue List   (150 more) ...
    • Junction Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Junction Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Junction Cemetery
    • Memorial Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Memorial Cemetery
    • Pearl Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pearl Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pearl Cemetery

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 Douglas had a population of 404 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Douglas had a population of 1,354 people.

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

  • Saugatuck
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saugatuck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saugatuck
    • Saugatuck is located in Allegan County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saugatuck <2>
  • Ganges
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ganges
    • Ganges is located in Allegan County
  • New Richmond
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Richmond have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
    • New Richmond is located in Allegan County
  • Gibson
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gibson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson
    • Gibson is located in Allegan County
  • Fennville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • East Saugatuck
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Saugatuck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Saugatuck
    • East Saugatuck is located in Allegan County
  • Glenn
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Pearl
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pearl have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl
    • Pearl is located in Allegan County
  • Graafschap
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graafschap
    • Graafschap is located in Allegan County
  • Spring Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
    • Spring Grove is located in Allegan County
  • Fillmore
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
    • Fillmore is located in Allegan County
  • Bravo
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bravo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bravo
    • Bravo is located in Allegan County
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Hamilton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Holland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Overisel
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Overisel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overisel
      • Overisel is located in Allegan County

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

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

The official website for Allegan County: www.allegancounty.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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Douglas) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Douglas. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.6437, Longitude: -86.2024    
<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 Douglas, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024