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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 Gaines (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 Gaines. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Gaines is located in Genesee 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 Genesee County: Lapeer, Livingston, Oakland, Saginaw, Shiawassee & Tuscola.

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

  • Genesee County     (The home county of Gaines)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gaines, with the one closest to Gaines listed first.
    • Duffield
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Argentine
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Argentine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argentine
      • Argentine is located in Genesee County
    • Swartz Creek
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swartz Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swartz Creek
      • Swartz Creek is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,491 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Swartz Creek <2>
    • Linden
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Linden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
      • Linden is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,954 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Linden <2>
    • Bayport Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Lake Fenton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Lakeside
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Fenton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fenton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
      • Fenton is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,374 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fenton <2>
    • Flushing
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flushing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flushing
      • Flushing is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,840 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Flushing <2>
    • Grand Blanc
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Flint
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Burton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Beecher
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beecher have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beecher
      • Beecher is located in Genesee County
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gaines, with the one closest to Gaines listed first.
    • Ovid
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ovid have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ovid
      • Ovid is located in Clinton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,607 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ovid <2>
    • Bath
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bath have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
      • Bath is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bath <2>
    • Shepardsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Elsie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Duplain
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Price
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Price. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price
      • Price is located in Clinton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Price
      • From Gaines to Price
  • Ingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gaines, with the one closest to Gaines listed first.
    • Webberville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webberville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webberville
      • Webberville is located in Ingham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,300 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webberville <2>
    • Williamston
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Meridian
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Meridian. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
      • Meridian is located in Ingham County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Meridian
      • From Gaines to Meridian
    • Haslett
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haslett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haslett
      • Haslett is located in Ingham County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haslett <2>
    • Pollok ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Okemos
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Dansville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • East Lansing
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Lansing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lansing
      • East Lansing is located in Ingham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47,641 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Lansing <2>
  • Lapeer County
    • Hadley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hadley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hadley
      • Hadley is located in Lapeer County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hadley <2>
  • Livingston County
  • Oakland County
  • Saginaw County
  • Shiawassee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gaines, with the one closest to Gaines listed first.
    • Byron
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Durand
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Lennon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lennon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lennon
      • Lennon is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 479 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lennon <2>
    • Vernon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Bancroft
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bancroft have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
      • Bancroft is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 494 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bancroft <2>
    • Newburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Corunna
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corunna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
      • Corunna is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,320 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Corunna <2>
    • Nicholson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nicholson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholson
      • Nicholson is located in Shiawassee County
    • Juddville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Morrice
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morrice have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrice
      • Morrice is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 906 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morrice <2>
    • Middletown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middletown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
      • Middletown is located in Shiawassee County
    • Owosso
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Perry
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Gaines ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gaines.

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

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

  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • 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.
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Atherton Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Atherton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Atherton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Byron Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Byron Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Byron Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pine Tree Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Tree Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Tree Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dart Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dart Family Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dart Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lovejoy Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lovejoy Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lovejoy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Union Plains Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Plains Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Plains Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Chippewa Nation Indian Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chippewa Nation Indian Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chippewa Nation Indian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gaylord Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gaylord Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gaylord Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Argentine Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Argentine Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Argentine Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pierce Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pierce Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pierce Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (310 more) ...
    • St. Marys Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Chalker Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chalker Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chalker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Deer Creek Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Deer Creek Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Deer Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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.<4>

While we didn't find Gaines in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Gaines.

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

  • Byron
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Duffield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Durand
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Argentine
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Argentine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argentine
    • Argentine is located in Genesee County
  • Deer Creek
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Linden
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Linden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
    • Linden is located in Genesee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,954 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Linden <2>
  • Swartz Creek
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swartz Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swartz Creek
    • Swartz Creek is located in Genesee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,491 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Swartz Creek <2>
  • Vernon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Lennon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lennon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lennon
    • Lennon is located in Shiawassee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 479 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lennon <2>
  • Bancroft
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bancroft have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
    • Bancroft is located in Shiawassee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 494 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bancroft <2>
  • Cohoctah
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Rankin
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rankin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rankin
    • Rankin is located in Genesee County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Oak Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oak Grove. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
      • Oak Grove is located in Livingston County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Oak Grove
      • From Gaines to Oak Grove
    • Fenton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fenton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
      • Fenton is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,374 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fenton <2>
    • Kerby
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kerby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerby
      • Kerby is located in Shiawassee County
      • Kerby has also been known as:
      • Kerby Mine

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

Newspapers Published in Gaines ...

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 122 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gaines.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gaines, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Gaines.

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 Gaines:

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

The official website for Genesee County: www.co.genesee.mi.us/

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>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 Gaines, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Gaines) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gaines. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.8730, Longitude: -83.9134    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025