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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 Harper Woods (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 Harper Woods. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Harper Woods is located in Wayne 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 Wayne County: Macomb, Monroe, Oakland & Washtenaw.

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

  • Wayne County     (The home county of Harper Woods)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harper Woods, with the one closest to Harper Woods listed first.
    • Grosse Pointe Woods
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Grosse Pointe Shores
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Grosse Pointe Farms
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Conners Creek
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Conners Creek is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conners Creek
    • Grosse Pointe
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Grosse Pointe Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Hamtramck
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Highland Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Highland Park is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,712 people
    • Detroit
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Springwells
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Springwells is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwells
      • Former name for Springwells:
      • Fordson
    • Strathmoor ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Strathmoor is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strathmoor
    • Dearborn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • River Rouge
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Macomb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harper Woods, with the one closest to Harper Woods listed first.
    • Eastpointe
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Eastpointe is located in Macomb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastpointe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,720 people
      • Former names for Eastpointe:
      • East Detroit
      • Half-Way
      • Halfway
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eastpointe <1>
    • Eagle Poine ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Eagle Poine is located in Macomb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Poine
    • Roseville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Saint Clair Shores
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Center Line
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Dalton Corners ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Dalton Corners is located in Macomb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton Corners
    • Van Dyke ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Van Dyke is located in Macomb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Dyke
    • Warren
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Warren is located in Macomb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 132,877 people
      • Warren has also been known as:
      • Cottageville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warren <1>
    • Fraser
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Quinn ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Quinn is located in Macomb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinn
    • Cady ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Cady is located in Macomb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cady
      • Cady has also been known as:
      • Cady's Corner
    • Liverpool ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Liverpool is located in Macomb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liverpool
    • Spinnings ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Spinnings is located in Macomb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spinnings
      • Spinnings has also been known as:
      • Spinning
  • Monroe County
    • Flat Rock
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Oakland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harper Woods, with the one closest to Harper Woods listed first.
    • Hazel Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Madison Heights
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Ferndale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant Ridge
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Royal Oak
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Huntington Woods
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Big Beaver
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Big Beaver is located in Oakland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Beaver
    • Clawson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Berkley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Oak Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Lathrup Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Southfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Birmingham
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Saint Clair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harper Woods, with the one closest to Harper Woods listed first.
    • Anchorville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Anchorville is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchorville
    • Fair Haven
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Pearl Beach
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Grande Pointe
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Grande Pointe is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grande Pointe
    • Perch Point
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Perch Point is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perch Point
    • Algonac
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Algonac is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algonac
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,034 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Algonac <1>
    • Starville ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Starville is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starville
    • Casco
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Broadbridge Station
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Broadbridge Station is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadbridge Station
    • Peters
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Peters is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters
    • Adair
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Adair is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adair
    • Belle River
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Belle River is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle River
    • Marine City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Marine City is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marine City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,035 people
      • Former names for Marine City:
      • Cottrellville
      • Marine
      • Newport
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marine City <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Harper Woods ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Harper Woods.

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 Harper Woods - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Assumption Grotto Catholic Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Peter's Lutheran Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Immanuel Methodist Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Gethsemane Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Kiwanis Park Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Forest Lawn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • B'nai-David Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for B'nai-David Cemetery
    • The B'nai-David Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Bnai-David Cemetery
  • St. Gertrude Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Clement Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Clement Cemetery
    • The St. Clement Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Center Line Catholic Cemetery
    • St. Clements Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1589 <2>
  • Continue List   (295 more) ...
    • Sacred Heart Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Sacred Heart of St. Mary Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sacred Heart of St. Mary Cemetery
      • The Sacred Heart of St. Mary Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Greenwood Cemetery
      • Sweetest Heart of Mary Cemetery
    • Trinity Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity Cemetery
      • The Trinity Cemetery has also been known as:
      • German Lutheran Cemetery
      • Lutheran Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #967 <2>

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>

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

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

  • Conners Creek
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Conners Creek is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conners Creek
  • Grosse Pointe
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Roseville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Warren
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Warren is located in Macomb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 132,877 people
    • Warren has also been known as:
    • Cottageville
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warren <1>
  • Fraser
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Highland Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Highland Park is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,712 people
  • Cady ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Cady is located in Macomb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cady
    • Cady has also been known as:
    • Cady's Corner
  • Detroit
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Mount Clemens
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Mount Clemens is located in Macomb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Clemens
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,013 people
    • Former names for Mount Clemens:
    • Big Springs
    • High Banks
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Clemens <1>
  • Royal Oak
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Delray
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Delray is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delray
  • Big Beaver
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Big Beaver is located in Oakland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Beaver
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Clawson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Dearborn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Utica
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Utica is located in Macomb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utica
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,062 people
      • Former names for Utica:
      • Hog Hollow
      • McDougalville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Utica <1>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Harper Woods ...

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 100 newspapers that have been published in the area around Harper Woods.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Harper Woods. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Harper Woods and those printed in the larger area surrounding Harper Woods.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4> of Harper Woods.

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 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 Harper Woods:

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 Harper Woods, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Harper Woods) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.