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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 Empire (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 Empire. 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 southeast 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 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.

Empire is located in Leelanau 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 Leelanau County: Benzie & Grand Traverse.

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

  • Leelanau County     (The home county of Empire)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Empire, with the one closest to Empire listed first.
    • Jacktown ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jacktown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacktown
      • Jacktown is located in Leelanau County
      • Jacktown has also been known as:
      • Osborn
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Jacktown
      • From Empire to Jacktown
    • Glen Haven ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Burdickville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Glen Arbor
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Maple City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple City
      • Maple City is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maple City <2>
    • Port Oneida ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Port Oneida. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Oneida
      • Port Oneida is located in Leelanau County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Port Oneida
      • From Empire to Port Oneida
    • Shalda Corners ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Cedar
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Isadore ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Isadore. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isadore
      • Isadore is located in Leelanau County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Isadore
      • From Empire to Isadore
    • Solon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Solon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solon
      • Solon is located in Leelanau County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Solon
      • From Empire to Solon
    • Bodus
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bodus. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bodus
      • Bodus is located in Leelanau County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bodus
      • From Empire to Bodus
    • Schomberg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Schomberg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schomberg
      • Schomberg is located in Leelanau County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Schomberg
      • From Empire to Schomberg
  • Benzie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Empire, with the one closest to Empire listed first.
    • Aral ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Aral. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aral
      • Aral is located in Benzie County
      • Aral has also been known as:
      • Otter Creek
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Aral
      • From Empire to Aral
    • Honor
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Honor have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honor
      • Honor is located in Benzie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 331 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Honor <2>
    • Platte River
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Beulah
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beulah have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
      • Beulah is located in Benzie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 347 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beulah <2>
    • Lake Ann
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Ann have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ann
      • Lake Ann is located in Benzie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 271 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Ann <2>
    • Benzonia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Frankfort
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frankfort have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankfort
      • Frankfort is located in Benzie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,289 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frankfort <2>
    • Elberta
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Bendon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bendon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bendon
      • Bendon is located in Benzie County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bendon
      • From Empire to Bendon
    • Wallin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Thompsonville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Nessen City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nessen City. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nessen City
      • Nessen City is located in Benzie County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Nessen City
      • From Empire to Nessen City
  • Grand Traverse County
  • Manistee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Empire, with the one closest to Empire listed first.
    • Malcolm
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Malcolm. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malcolm
      • Malcolm is located in Manistee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Malcolm
      • From Empire to Malcolm
    • Arcadia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Copemish
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Henry ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Henry. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
      • Henry is located in Manistee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Henry
      • From Empire to Henry
    • Pomona
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pomona. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
      • Pomona is located in Manistee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pomona
      • From Empire to Pomona
    • Bear Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Harlan ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Harlan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan
      • Harlan is located in Manistee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Harlan
      • From Empire to Harlan
    • Kaleva
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kaleva have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaleva
      • Kaleva is located in Manistee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kaleva <2>
  • Wexford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Empire, with the one closest to Empire listed first.
    • Buckley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bagnall
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bagnall have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagnall
      • Bagnall is located in Wexford County

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

Cemeteries Near Empire ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Empire.

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

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

  • Empire Catholic Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Empire Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Empire Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Platte Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Platte Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Platte Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Tobin Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tobin Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tobin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Burdickville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burdickville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burdickville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Glen Arbor Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Glen Arbor Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Glen Arbor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Almira Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Almira Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Almira Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wilson Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Tucker Lake Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tucker Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tucker Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Leelanau School Road Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Leelanau School Road Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Leelanau School Road Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (92 more) ...
    • Champion Hill Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Champion Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Champion Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Green Briar Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Green Briar Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Green Briar Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • East Kasson Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Kasson Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Kasson 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Empire had a population of 40 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Empire had a population of 375 people.

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

  • Burdickville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Glen Arbor
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Glen Haven ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Edgewater
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edgewater have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater
    • Edgewater is located in Benzie County
  • Maple City
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple City
    • Maple City is located in Leelanau County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maple City <2>
  • Port Oneida ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Port Oneida. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Oneida
    • Port Oneida is located in Leelanau County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Port Oneida
    • From Empire to Port Oneida
  • Lake Ann
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Ann have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ann
    • Lake Ann is located in Benzie County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 271 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Ann <2>
  • Cedar Run
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Run have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Run
    • Cedar Run is located in Benzie County
  • Benzonia
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Frankfort
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frankfort have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankfort
    • Frankfort is located in Benzie County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,289 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frankfort <2>
  • Solon
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Solon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solon
    • Solon is located in Leelanau County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Solon
    • From Empire to Solon
  • Weldon
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weldon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weldon
    • Weldon is located in Benzie County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Bendon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bendon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bendon
      • Bendon is located in Benzie County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bendon
      • From Empire to Bendon
    • Interlochen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Bingham
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bingham. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bingham
      • Bingham is located in Leelanau County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bingham
      • From Empire to Bingham

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Empire ...

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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Empire.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Empire. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Empire and those printed in the larger area surrounding Empire.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Empire.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Empire:

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

The official website for Leelanau County: www.leelanau.cc/

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>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 Empire, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Empire) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Empire. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.8111, Longitude: -86.0584       In this case, the coordinates for Empire have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025