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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Freedom (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 Freedom. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.

Freedom is located in Cheboygan 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 Cheboygan County: Charlevoix, Emmet, Montmorency, Otsego & Presque Isle.

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

  • Cheboygan County     (The home county of Freedom)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Freedom, with the one closest to Freedom listed first.
    • Point Nipigon
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Point Nipigon is located in Cheboygan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Nipigon
      • Point Nipigon has also been known as:
      • Point Nip-i-gon
    • Cheboygan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Riggsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Riggsville is located in Cheboygan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riggsville
    • Silver Beach
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Silver Beach is located in Cheboygan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Beach
    • Mullett Lake
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Mullett Lake is located in Cheboygan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullett Lake
    • Long Point
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Long Point is located in Cheboygan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Point
    • Veery Point
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Veery Point is located in Cheboygan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veery Point
    • Topinabee
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Giauque Beach
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Giauque Beach is located in Cheboygan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giauque Beach
    • Burt Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Indian River
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Afton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
  • Emmet County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Freedom, with the one closest to Freedom listed first.
    • Mackinaw City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Carp Lake
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Levering
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Van
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Van is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van
    • Bliss
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Bliss is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss
    • Pellston
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Marsh Corner
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Marsh Corner is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Corner
    • Brutus
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Cross Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Alanson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Oden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Ponshewaing
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Ponshewaing is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponshewaing
  • Mackinac County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Freedom, with the one closest to Freedom listed first.
    • Pointe Aux Pins
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Mackinac Island
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Mackinac Island is located in Mackinac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackinac Island
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
    • British Landing
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • British Landing is located in Mackinac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for British Landing
    • Saint Ignace
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Gros Cap
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Gros Cap is located in Mackinac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gros Cap
    • Allenville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Allenville is located in Mackinac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenville
    • Moran
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Pontchartrain Shores
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Pontchartrain Shores is located in Mackinac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pontchartrain Shores
    • Hessel
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cedarville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Simmons ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Simmons is located in Mackinac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simmons
    • Port Dolomite
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Port Dolomite is located in Mackinac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Dolomite
  • Presque Isle County
    • Black Lake Bluffs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Black Lake Bluffs is located in Presque Isle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Lake Bluffs

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

Cemeteries Near Freedom ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Freedom.

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

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

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

  • Sailors & Indians Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Hebron Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Mackinaw City Bible Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Lakeview Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Munro Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Lakeside Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Ft. Mackinac Post Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • St. Anns Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Mackinac Island Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Levering & Carp Lake Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Polish Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Pine Hill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (75 more) ...
    • Pine Hill Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • St. Ignace's Catholic Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • McRae Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)

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 in 1895, Freedom had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Carp Lake
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Mackinaw City
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Pointe Aux Pins
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Mackinac Island
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Mackinac Island is located in Mackinac County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackinac Island
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
  • Levering
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Saint Ignace
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Cheboygan
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Riggsville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Riggsville is located in Cheboygan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riggsville
  • Bliss
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Bliss is located in Emmet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss
  • Mullett Lake
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Mullett Lake is located in Cheboygan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullett Lake
  • Pellston
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Topinabee
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Brutus
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Ayr
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Ayr is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayr
    • Moran
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Freedom ...

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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Freedom.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Freedom, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Freedom.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Freedom:

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 Freedom, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Freedom) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.