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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 Dowling (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 Dowling. 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 and doctors 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.

Dowling is located in Barry 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 Barry County: Allegan, Calhoun, Eaton, Ionia, Kalamazoo & Kent.

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

  • Barry County     (The home county of Dowling)
  • Allegan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dowling, with the one closest to Dowling listed first.
    • Hooper
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hooper. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooper
      • Hooper is located in Allegan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hooper
      • From Dowling to Hooper
    • Neeley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Martin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Plainwell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Shelbyville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Bradley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bradley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
      • Bradley is located in Allegan County
    • Wayland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wayland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
      • Wayland is located in Allegan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,237 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wayland <2>
    • Otsego
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Watson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Moline
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Hilliards
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hopkins
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hopkins have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopkins
      • Hopkins is located in Allegan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 605 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hopkins <2>
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dowling, with the one closest to Dowling listed first.
    • Bedford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bedford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford
      • Bedford is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bedford <2>
    • Level Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Oak Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oak Park. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park
      • Oak Park is located in Calhoun County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Oak Park
      • From Dowling to Oak Park
    • Pennfield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Springfield
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
      • Springfield is located in Calhoun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,184 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Springfield <2>
    • Battle Creek
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Verona Park
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Brownlee Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brownlee Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownlee Park
      • Brownlee Park is located in Calhoun County
    • Fort Custer
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fort Custer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Custer
      • Fort Custer is located in Calhoun County
      • Former name for Fort Custer:
      • Camp Custer
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fort Custer
      • From Dowling to Fort Custer
    • Beadle Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Ceresco
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ceresco have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceresco
      • Ceresco is located in Calhoun County
    • Sonoma
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sonoma. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonoma
      • Sonoma is located in Calhoun County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sonoma
      • From Dowling to Sonoma
  • Clinton County
  • Eaton County
  • Ionia County
  • Jackson County
  • Kalamazoo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dowling, with the one closest to Dowling listed first.
    • South Gull Lake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Gull Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gull Lake
      • South Gull Lake is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Highland Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Yorkville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Yorkville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkville
      • Yorkville is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Yorkville
      • From Dowling to Yorkville
    • Augusta
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Richland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
      • Richland is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 847 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richland <2>
    • Galesburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • East Cooper
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for East Cooper. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cooper
      • East Cooper is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to East Cooper
      • From Dowling to East Cooper
    • Climax
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Comstock
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Comstock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
      • Comstock is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Parchment
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parchment have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parchment
      • Parchment is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,825 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parchment <2>
    • Eastwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eastwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastwood
      • Eastwood is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Kalamazoo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dowling, with the one closest to Dowling listed first.
    • Caledonia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Alto
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alto have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
      • Alto is located in Kent County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alto <2>
    • Corinth
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Corinth. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
      • Corinth is located in Kent County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Corinth
      • From Dowling to Corinth
    • Dutton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Lowell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Segwun
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Carlisle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carlisle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
      • Carlisle is located in Kent County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Carlisle
      • From Dowling to Carlisle
    • Cutlerville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cutlerville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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>
    • Kentwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kentwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentwood
      • Kentwood is located in Kent County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51,719 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kentwood <2>
    • North Dorr
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Dorr have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dorr
      • North Dorr is located in Kent County
  • Van Buren County

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

Cemeteries Near Dowling ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dowling.

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

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

  • Dowling Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dowling Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dowling Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cedar Creek Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar Creek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cedar Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Union Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Banfield Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Banfield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Banfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Striker Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Iden Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Iden Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Iden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ellis Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ellis Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ellis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wilcox Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilcox Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilcox Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • German Evangelical Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the German Evangelical Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the German Evangelical Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Barryville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Barryville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Barryville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hastings Twp. Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hastings Twp. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hastings Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Barry County Poor Farm Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Barry County Poor Farm Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Barry County Poor Farm Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (290 more) ...
    • North Hickory Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Hickory Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Hickory Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Checkered Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Checkered Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Checkered Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Assyria Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Assyria Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Assyria Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Dowling had a population of 50 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Lacey
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lacey have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey
    • Lacey is located in Barry County
  • Cedar Creek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cedar Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek
    • Cedar Creek is located in Barry County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Cedar Creek
    • From Dowling to Cedar Creek
  • Banfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Maple Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Assyria
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Assyria have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assyria
    • Assyria is located in Barry County
  • Morgan
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Morgan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
    • Morgan is located in Barry County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Morgan
    • From Dowling to Morgan
  • Cloverdale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Delton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Hastings
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Hickory Corners
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Bedford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bedford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford
    • Bedford is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bedford <2>
  • Nashville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nashville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville
    • Nashville is located in Barry County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,696 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nashville <2>
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Prairieville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Coats Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coats Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coats Grove
      • Coats Grove is located in Barry County
    • Cressey
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cressey have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cressey
      • Cressey is located in Barry County

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

Newspapers Published in Dowling ...

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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dowling.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dowling, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dowling.

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 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 Dowling:

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

The official website for Barry County: www.barrycounty.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 Dowling, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Dowling) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dowling. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5224, Longitude: -85.2535    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025