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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 East Martin (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 Martin. 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 Martin ...

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 Martin: E. Martin

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

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

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

  • Allegan County     (The home county of East Martin)
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Martin, with the one closest to East Martin listed first.
    • Martin
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Shelbyville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hooper
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Hooper is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooper
    • Neeley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Neeley is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neeley
    • Watson
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Watson is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
    • Bradley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Bradley is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
    • Plainwell
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Wayland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Otsego
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Hilliards
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Hilliards is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilliards
    • Hopkins
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Allegan
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Barry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Martin, with the one closest to East Martin listed first.
    • Doster
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Doster is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doster
    • Prairieville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Prairieville is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
    • Cloverdale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Cloverdale is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
    • Delton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Middleville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cedar Creek
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Cedar Creek is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek
    • Irving
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Irving is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
    • Hickory Corners
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Banfield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Banfield is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banfield
    • Hastings
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Dowling
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Dowling is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowling
    • Freeport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Martin, with the one closest to East Martin listed first.
    • Level Park
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Level Park is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Level Park
    • Bedford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Oak Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Oak Park is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park
    • Fort Custer
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Fort Custer is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Custer
      • Former name for Fort Custer:
      • Camp Custer
    • Springfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Battle Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Verona Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Verona Park is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona Park
    • Brownlee Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Brownlee Park is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownlee Park
    • Pennfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Pennfield is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennfield
    • West Leroy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • West Leroy is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leroy
    • Sonoma
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Sonoma is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonoma
    • Beadle Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Beadle Lake is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beadle Lake
  • Eaton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Martin, with the one closest to East Martin listed first.
    • Vermontville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Woodbury
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Woodbury is located in Eaton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbury
    • Bellevue
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Ionia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Martin, with the one closest to East Martin listed first.
    • Campbell Corners
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Campbell Corners is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Corners
    • Elmdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Elmdale is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
    • Clarksville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Odessa
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Kalamazoo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Martin, with the one closest to East Martin listed first.
    • Highland Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Highland Park is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
    • Richland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Alamo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Alamo is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamo
    • East Cooper
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • East Cooper is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cooper
    • Parchment
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • South Gull Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • South Gull Lake is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gull Lake
    • Yorkville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Yorkville is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkville
    • Eastwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Eastwood is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastwood
    • Kalamazoo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Westwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Westwood is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
    • Comstock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Comstock is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
    • Augusta
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Martin, with the one closest to East Martin listed first.
    • Caledonia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Corinth
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Corinth is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
    • North Dorr
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • North Dorr is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dorr
    • Byron Center
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Carlisle
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Carlisle is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
    • Dutton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Dutton is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutton
    • Cutlerville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Kentwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Alto
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Burlingame
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Burlingame is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
    • Clyde Park
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Clyde Park is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde Park
    • Burlingame Heights
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Burlingame Heights is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame Heights
  • Ottawa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Martin, with the one closest to East Martin listed first.
    • Forest Grove
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Forest Grove is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove
    • Jamestown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jamestown is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
    • Drenthe
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Drenthe is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenthe
    • Forest Grove Station
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Forest Grove Station is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove Station
    • Hudsonville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jenison
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • South Blendon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • South Blendon is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Blendon
    • Zeeland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Bauer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Bauer is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauer
    • Holland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Waverly
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Waverly is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
  • Van Buren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Martin, with the one closest to East Martin listed first.
    • Kendall
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Kendall is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
    • Gobles
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • North Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • North Lake is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lake
    • Almena
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Almena is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
    • Glendale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Glendale is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
    • Mattawan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Bloomingdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Grand Junction
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Paw Paw
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Breedsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lacota
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Lacota is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacota
    • Lawton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lawton is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,796 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lawton <1>

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

Cemeteries Near East Martin ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of East Martin.

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 Martin - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for East Martin covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • East Martin Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • South Martin Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Messer Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Bradley Indian Mission Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Selkirk Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Brown Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Oakhill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakhill Cemetery
    • The Oakhill Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Oak Hill Cemetery
    • Orangeville Twp. Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #870884 <2>
  • German Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Hicks Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Lindsey Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Woodside Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Ives Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (313 more) ...
    • Jesuit Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Robbins Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • St.s Cyril & Methodius' Catholic Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)

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>

While we didn't find East Martin in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of East Martin.

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

  • Martin
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Hooper
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hooper is located in Allegan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooper
  • Shelbyville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Watson
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Watson is located in Allegan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
  • Doster
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Doster is located in Barry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doster
  • Bradley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Bradley is located in Allegan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
  • Plainwell
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Prairieville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Prairieville is located in Barry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
  • Otsego
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Wayland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Bowens Mill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Bowens Mill is located in Barry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowens Mill
  • Cressey
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Cressey is located in Barry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cressey
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Delton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Cloverdale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Cloverdale is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
    • Hilliards
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Hilliards is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilliards

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

Newspapers Published in East Martin ...

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 110 newspapers that have been published in the area around East Martin.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of East Martin, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for East Martin.

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 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 Martin:

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 East Martin, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- East Martin) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.