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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 Ferrysburg (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 Ferrysburg. 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 Ferrysburg ...

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.

Another variation: Ferrsyburgh.

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.

Ferrysburg is located in Ottawa 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 Ottawa County: Allegan, Kent & Muskegon.

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

  • Ottawa County     (The home county of Ferrysburg)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ferrysburg, with the one closest to Ferrysburg listed first.
    • Grand Haven
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Spring Lake
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Nunica
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Agnew
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Agnew is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
    • Robinson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Robinson is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
    • West Olive
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Port Sheldon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Port Sheldon is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Sheldon
    • Rusk
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Rusk is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rusk
    • Coopersville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Eastmanville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Eastmanville is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastmanville
    • Allendale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Lamont
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Lamont is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
    • Conklin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Allegan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ferrysburg, with the one closest to Ferrysburg listed first.
    • Graafschap
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Graafschap is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graafschap
    • Boyd
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Boyd is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
    • Fillmore
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Fillmore is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
    • Singapore ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Singapore is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Singapore
    • Saugatuck
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Douglas
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Hamilton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ferrysburg, with the one closest to Ferrysburg listed first.
    • Lisbon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Lisbon is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
    • Kinney
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Kinney is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinney
    • Casnovia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Walker
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Kent City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Sparta
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Grandville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Comstock Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Galewood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Galewood is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galewood
    • Urbandale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Urbandale is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbandale
    • Beverly
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Beverly is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
    • Burlingame Heights
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Burlingame Heights is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame Heights
    • Burlingame
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Burlingame is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
  • Muskegon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ferrysburg, with the one closest to Ferrysburg listed first.
    • Fruitport
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Norton Shores
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Muskegon Heights
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Roosevelt Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Muskegon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Sullivan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Sullivan is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
    • North Muskegon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Wolf Lake
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Wolf Lake is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
    • Morgan Corners
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Morgan Corners is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Corners
    • Ravenna
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Dalton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Dalton is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton
    • Slocum
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Slocum is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slocum
    • Twin Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Newaygo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ferrysburg, with the one closest to Ferrysburg listed first.
    • Bridgeton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Bridgeton is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
    • Sitka
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Sitka is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
    • Ashland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Ashland is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
    • Brookside
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Brookside is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
    • Grant
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Reeman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Reeman is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeman
    • Bishop
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Bishop is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
    • Fremont
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Fremont is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,102 people
      • Former name for Fremont:
      • Fremont Center
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fremont <1>
    • Sun
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Sun is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun
  • Oceana County
    • Rothbury
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Ferrysburg ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ferrysburg.

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

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

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

  • Lake Forest Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Spring Lake Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Fruitport Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Pine Ridge Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Grand Haven Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Nunica Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Norton Shores Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • St. Gregory's Episcopal Church Courtyard Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Mona View Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Robinson Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Sunrise Memorial Gardens
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (161 more) ...
    • Cobmosay Grave
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Indian Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Ottawa Center Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 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 Ferrysburg had a population of 600 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Ferrysburg had a population of 3,022 people.

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

  • Grand Haven
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Spring Lake
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Fruitport
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Nunica
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Cloverville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Cloverville is located in Muskegon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverville
  • Agnew
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Agnew is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
  • Muskegon Heights
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Robinson
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Robinson is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
  • Sullivan
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Sullivan is located in Muskegon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
  • Muskegon
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • North Muskegon
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • West Olive
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Dennison
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Dennison is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennison
    • Olive Center
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Olive Center is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olive Center
    • Eastmanville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Eastmanville is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastmanville

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

Newspapers Published in Ferrysburg ...

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 144 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ferrysburg.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ferrysburg, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ferrysburg.

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 Ferrysburg:

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 Ferrysburg, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Ferrysburg) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.