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 Five Lakes (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 Five Lakes. 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 Five Lakes ...
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 Five Lakes: Five Lks.
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 southwest 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 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 west 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.
Five Lakes is located in Lapeer 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 Lapeer County: Genesee, Macomb, Oakland, Saint Clair, Sanilac & Tuscola.
Below are the counties that are near Five Lakes. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Five Lakes:
- Lapeer County (The home county of Five Lakes)
- The following are listed by their distance from Five Lakes, with the one closest to Five Lakes listed first.
- Kings Mill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Kings Mill is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Mill
- Barnes Lake - Millers Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lum
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Lum is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lum
- North Branch
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Attica
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Lapeer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Columbiaville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Burnside
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Burnside is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
- Hunters Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Hunters Creek is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Creek
- Imlay City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Clifford
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Clifford is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 323 people
- Silverwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Otter Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Genesee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Five Lakes, with the one closest to Five Lakes listed first.
- Otisville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Davison
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Russellville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Russellville is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Genesee
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Atlas
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Atlas is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlas
- Goodrich
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Burton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Beecher
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Beecher is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beecher
- Mount Morris
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Grand Blanc
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Flint
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Clio
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Farrandville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Farrandville is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrandville
- Macomb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Five Lakes, with the one closest to Five Lakes listed first.
- Miami ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Miami is located in Macomb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miami
- Grays' Mills ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Grays' Mills is located in Macomb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grays' Mills
- Former names for Grays' Mills:
- Clifton Mill
- Clifton Village
- Clifton
- Romeo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Thorington ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Thorington is located in Macomb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorington
- Thorington has also been known as:
- Thorington Settlement
- Armada Corners ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Armada Corners is located in Macomb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armada Corners
- Armada Corners has also been known as:
- Selleck's Corners
- Doyle ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Doyle is located in Macomb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyle
- Armada
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Armada is located in Macomb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armada
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,698 people
- Former names for Armada:
- Burk's Corners
- Honeyoe
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Armada <1>
- Crissmanville ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Crissmanville is located in Macomb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crissmanville
- Mount Vernon ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Mount Vernon is located in Macomb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Memphis
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Memphis is located in Macomb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memphis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,170 people
- Former name for Memphis:
- Well's Settlement
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Memphis <1>
- Berry's Corners ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Berry's Corners is located in Macomb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berry's Corners
- Washington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Oakland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Five Lakes, with the one closest to Five Lakes listed first.
- Thomas
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Thomas is located in Oakland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
- Leonard
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Oakwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Oakwood is located in Oakland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Lakeville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Lakeville is located in Oakland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeville
- Oxford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Ortonville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Perry Lake Heights
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Perry Lake Heights is located in Oakland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perry Lake Heights
- Campbells Corner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Campbells Corner is located in Oakland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbells Corner
- Lake Orion
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Lake Orion is located in Oakland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Orion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,191 people
- Former names for Lake Orion:
- Canandaigua City
- New Canandaigua
- Oakland
- Orion
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Orion <1>
- Lake Orion Heights
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lake Orion Heights is located in Oakland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Orion Heights
- Rudds Mill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Rudds Mill is located in Oakland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudds Mill
- Kline ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Kline is located in Oakland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kline
- Kline has also been known as:
- Kline Settlement
- Decker ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Decker is located in Oakland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decker
- Decker has also been known as:
- Decker Settlement
- Saginaw County
- The following are listed by their distance from Five Lakes, with the one closest to Five Lakes listed first.
- Frankenmuth
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Birch Run
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Five Lakes, with the one closest to Five Lakes listed first.
- Capac
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lesterville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lesterville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lesterville
- Yale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Yale is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,861 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yale <1>
- Allenton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Allenton is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenton
- Brockway
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Brockway is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brockway
- Berville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Berville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berville
- Riley Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Riley Center is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riley Center
- Emmett
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Avoca
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Goodells
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Goodells is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodells
- Lambs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lambs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambs
- Lambs has also been known as:
- Lamb
- Sanilac County
- The following are listed by their distance from Five Lakes, with the one closest to Five Lakes listed first.
- Marlette
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Valley Center
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Valley Center is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Center
- Melvin
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Melvin is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
- Juhl
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Juhl is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juhl
- Speaker
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Speaker is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speaker
- Peck
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Peck is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peck
- Population from the 2020 Census: 588 people
- Decker
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Decker is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decker
- Hemans
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Hemans is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemans
- Roseburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Roseburg is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseburg
- Elmer
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Elmer is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmer
- Watertown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Watertown is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watertown
- Snover
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Snover is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snover
- Cash
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cash is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash
- Tuscola County
- The following are listed by their distance from Five Lakes, with the one closest to Five Lakes listed first.
- Fostoria
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fostoria is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fostoria
- Mayville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Millington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Kingston
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Juniata
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Juniata is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniata
- Wilmot
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Wilmot is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
- Vassar
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Wahjamega
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Wahjamega is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahjamega
- Tuscola
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Caro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Deford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Deford is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deford
- Watrousville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Watrousville is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watrousville
- Denmark Junction
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Denmark Junction is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark Junction
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Five Lakes, see our County-by-County Page for Five Lakes.
Cemeteries Near Five Lakes ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Five Lakes.
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 Five Lakes - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Five Lakes covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Five Lakes, with the one closest to Five Lakes listed first.
- Five Lakes Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Bahel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Arcadia Twp. Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia Twp. Cemetery
- The Arcadia Twp. Cemetery has also been known as:
- Arcadia Cemetery
- DeGroat Cemetery
- Lum Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2143188 <2>
- St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Stiles Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Westlawn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Millville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Higley Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (249 more) ...
- North Branch - Burlington Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- West Deerfield Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lapeer State Home Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Five Lakes had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Five Lakes, with the one closest to Five Lakes listed first.
- Kings Mill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Kings Mill is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Mill
- Lum
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Lum is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lum
- North Branch
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lapeer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Attica
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Goodland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Goodland is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodland
- Columbiaville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Burnside
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Burnside is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
- Fostoria
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fostoria is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fostoria
- Hunters Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Hunters Creek is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Creek
- Imlay City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Elba
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Elba is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Clifford
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Clifford is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 323 people
- Otter Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Farmers Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Farmers Creek is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmers Creek
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Five Lakes. See our List of 1890's Communities around Five Lakes.
Newspapers Published in Five Lakes ...
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 106 newspapers that have been published in the area around Five Lakes.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Five Lakes, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Five Lakes.
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 Five Lakes:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Lapeer County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Genesee County
- Macomb County
- Oakland County
- Saginaw County
- Saint Clair County
- Sanilac County
- Tuscola 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> | 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 Five Lakes, 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 from Point A (ie- Five Lakes) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |