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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 Elmdale (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 Elmdale. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.

Elmdale is primarily located in Ionia County. A portion of Elmdale extends into Kent 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 Ionia County: Barry, Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Kent & Montcalm.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Elmdale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Elmdale.

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

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

  • Mennonite Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mennonite Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mennonite Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • South Boston Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South Boston Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South Boston Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McBride Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McBride Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McBride Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Clarksville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clarksville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clarksville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bowne Center Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bowne Center Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bowne Center Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Merriman Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Freeport Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Freeport Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Freeport Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oakwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fuller Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fuller Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fuller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dunkard Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dunkard Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dunkard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Daniels Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Daniels Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Daniels Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Patrick's Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Patrick's Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Patrick's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (296 more) ...

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 Elmdale had a population of 28 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Clarksville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarksville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
    • Clarksville is located in Ionia County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 395 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarksville <2>
  • Alto
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alto have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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>
  • Freeport
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
    • Freeport is located in Barry County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 503 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeport <2>
  • Lowell
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Saranac
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Whitneyville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitneyville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitneyville
    • Whitneyville is located in Kent County
  • Alaska
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alaska have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
    • Alaska is located in Kent County
  • Labarge
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Labarge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Labarge
    • Labarge is located in Kent County
  • Lake Odessa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Odessa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Odessa
    • Lake Odessa is located in Ionia County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,041 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Odessa <2>
  • Fallassburg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fallassburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallassburg
    • Fallassburg is located in Kent County
  • Cascade
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cascade have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
    • Cascade is located in Kent County
  • Alton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
    • Alton is located in Kent County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Ada
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ada have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
      • Ada is located in Kent County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ada <2>
    • Middleville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middleville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleville
      • Middleville is located in Barry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,510 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Middleville <2>
    • Irving
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Elmdale ...

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 209 newspapers that have been published in the area around Elmdale.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Elmdale, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Elmdale.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Elmdale:

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

The official website for Ionia County: www.ioniacounty.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>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.
<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 Elmdale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Elmdale) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Elmdale. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.8496, Longitude: -85.3067    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025