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 East Gilead (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 East Gilead. 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.
Name Variations for East Gilead ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
For example, a typical abbreviation for East Gilead: E. Gilead
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
East Gilead is located in Branch 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 Branch County: LaGrange (IN), Steuben (IN), Calhoun, Hillsdale & Saint Joseph.
Below are the counties that are near East Gilead. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to East Gilead:
- Branch County (The home county of East Gilead)
- The following are listed by their distance from East Gilead, with the one closest to East Gilead listed first.
- Gilead
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Gilead is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Hatmaker
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Hatmaker is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- Canada Shores
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Canada Shores is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Shores
- Bronson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Batavia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Batavia is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Ray
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Coldwater
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Fisher
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Fisher is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
- Trailtree Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Trailtree Village is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailtree Village
- Matteson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Matteson is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matteson
- Quincy
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hodunk
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Hodunk is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodunk
- Girard
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Girard is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from East Gilead, with the one closest to East Gilead listed first.
- Athens
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Burlington
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Burlington is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 277 people
- Tekonsha
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- East Leroy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- East Leroy is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Leroy
- Joppa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Joppa is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa
- Homer
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hillsdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from East Gilead, with the one closest to East Gilead listed first.
- Montgomery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Montgomery is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
- Camden
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Reading
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Allen
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Frontier
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Frontier is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frontier
- Litchfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Steamburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Steamburg is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steamburg
- Hillsdale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jonesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Osseo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Ransom
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Ransom is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ransom
- Shadyside
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Shadyside is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadyside
- Buckeye ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Buckeye is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
- Kalamazoo County
- Fulton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fulton is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Saint Joseph County
- The following are listed by their distance from East Gilead, with the one closest to East Gilead listed first.
- Burr Oak
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Fawn River
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Fawn River is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn River
- Findley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Findley is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Findley
- Colon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Colon is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,155 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colon <1>
- Sturgis
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Fairfax
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Fairfax is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax
- Factoryville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Factoryville is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Factoryville
- Leonidas
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Nottawa
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wasepi
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wasepi is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasepi
- Klingers
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Klingers is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klingers
- Bluff Beach
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Bluff Beach is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Beach
- Centreville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Centreville is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,400 people
- DeKalb County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from East Gilead, with the one closest to East Gilead listed first.
- Ashley
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Fairfield Center
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Fairfield Center is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Center
- Corunna
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Corunna is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Waterloo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Butler
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Moore
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Moore is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore
- Auburn
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Altona
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Altona is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altona
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Garrett
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- LaGrange County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from East Gilead, with the one closest to East Gilead listed first.
- Greenfield Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- Brushy Prairie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Brushy Prairie is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Prairie
- Mongo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Brighton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Brighton is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Stroh
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Stroh is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroh
- Plato
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Plato is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato
- Gravel Beach
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gravel Beach is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Beach
- Howe
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- LaGrange
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- South Milford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- South Milford is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Milford
- Valentine
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- Wolcottville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Seyberts
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Seyberts is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyberts
- Noble County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from East Gilead, with the one closest to East Gilead listed first.
- Wakeville Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Wakeville Village is located in Noble County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakeville Village
- Rome City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Kendallville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Brimfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Brimfield is located in Noble County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
- Cosperville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cosperville is located in Noble County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosperville
- Avilla
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Wawaka
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Steuben County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from East Gilead, with the one closest to East Gilead listed first.
- Jamestown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jamestown is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Orland
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Fremont
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ray
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Ray is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Angola
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Clear Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Clear Lake is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Pleasant Lake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- York
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- York is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Hudson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Russels Point
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Russels Point is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russels Point
- Alvarado
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Alvarado is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- Hamilton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Hamilton is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,595 people
- Williams County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from East Gilead, with the one closest to East Gilead listed first.
- Columbia
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Columbia is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia
- Northwest
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Northwest is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwest
- Cooney
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cooney is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooney
- Ainger
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ainger is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ainger
- Edon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Edon is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 807 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edon <1>
- Blakeslee
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jim Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Jim Town is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jim Town
- Denmark ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Denmark is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Pioneer
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Edgerton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Montpelier
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Holiday City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Holiday City is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to East Gilead, see our County-by-County Page for East Gilead.
Cemeteries Near East Gilead ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of East Gilead.
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 East Gilead - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for East Gilead covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from East Gilead, with the one closest to East Gilead listed first.
- East Gilead Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Jamestown Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hooping Corner Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Knauss Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Lawrence Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Gilead Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Carlton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mill Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Greenlawn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Sorter Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Ammerman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Card Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (313 more) ...
- Curtis Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Lake Gage Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Munday Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that East Gilead had a population of 120 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from East Gilead, with the one closest to East Gilead listed first.
- Nevada Mills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Nevada Mills is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevada Mills
- Bethel
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Bethel is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Gilead
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Gilead is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Orland
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Inverness
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Inverness is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Hatmaker
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Hatmaker is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- Greenfield Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- Bronson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Flint
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Flint is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
- Batavia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Batavia is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Angola
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ray
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Ray is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- California
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- California is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California
- Algansee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Algansee is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algansee
- Coldwater
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around East Gilead. See our List of 1890's Communities around East Gilead.
Newspapers Published in East Gilead ...
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 121 newspapers that have been published in the area around East Gilead.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of East Gilead, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for East Gilead.
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 East Gilead:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Branch County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Hillsdale County
- Kalamazoo County
- Saint Joseph County
- DeKalb County
- LaGrange County
- Noble County
- Steuben County
- Williams 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> | 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 East Gilead, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- East Gilead) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |