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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 Harrison (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 Harrison. 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 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.

Harrison is located in Clare County and is the County Seat.

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 Clare County: Gladwin, Isabella, Mecosta, Midland, Missaukee & Roscommon.

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

  • Clare County     (The home county of Harrison)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • Allendale
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allendale
      • Allendale is located in Clare County
    • Hatton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hatton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
      • Hatton is located in Clare County
    • Lake George
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake George
      • Lake George is located in Clare County
    • Dover
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
      • Dover is located in Clare County
    • Meredith
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith
      • Meredith is located in Clare County
    • Clare
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Farwell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake
      • Lake is located in Clare County
      • Former name for Lake:
      • Lake Station
  • Gladwin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • Gladwin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Beaverton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Sugar Rapids
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Rapids
      • Sugar Rapids is located in Gladwin County
    • White Star
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Star
      • White Star is located in Gladwin County
    • Wooden Shoe Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooden Shoe Village
      • Wooden Shoe Village is located in Gladwin County
    • Highwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highwood
      • Highwood is located in Gladwin County
  • Isabella County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • Vernon City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vernon City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon City
      • Vernon City is located in Isabella County
    • Loomis
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loomis
      • Loomis is located in Isabella County
    • Brinton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brinton
      • Brinton is located in Isabella County
    • Rosebush
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Beal City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beal City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beal City
      • Beal City is located in Isabella County
    • Weidman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weidman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weidman
      • Weidman is located in Isabella County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Weidman <2>
    • Sherman City ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman City
      • Sherman City is located in Isabella County
    • Jordan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jordan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
      • Jordan is located in Isabella County
    • Lake Isabella
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Isabella
      • Lake Isabella is located in Isabella County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,688 people
      • Lake Isabella has also been known as:
      • Lake Isabella village
    • Alembic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alembic
      • Alembic is located in Isabella County
    • Mount Pleasant
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Mecosta County
    • Barryton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barryton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barryton
      • Barryton is located in Mecosta County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 357 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Barryton <2>
  • Midland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • Coleman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Edenville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edenville
      • Edenville is located in Midland County
    • Hope
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
      • Hope is located in Midland County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hope <2>
    • Oil City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oil City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
      • Oil City is located in Midland County
  • Missaukee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • Falmouth
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Falmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth
      • Falmouth is located in Missaukee County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Falmouth <2>
    • Merritt
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • McBain
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McBain have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBain
      • McBain is located in Missaukee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 667 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McBain <2>
    • Star City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Star City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
      • Star City is located in Missaukee County
    • Stoney Corner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoney Corner
      • Stoney Corner is located in Missaukee County
      • Stoney Corner has also been known as:
      • Stoney Corners
    • Lucas
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucas
      • Lucas is located in Missaukee County
    • Lake City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
      • Lake City is located in Missaukee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 837 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake City <2>
  • Osceola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • Marion
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Sears
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sears have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sears
      • Sears is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sears <2>
    • Park Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Lake
      • Park Lake is located in Osceola County
    • Avondale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avondale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale
      • Avondale is located in Osceola County
    • Evart
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evart have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evart
      • Evart is located in Osceola County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,886 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Evart <2>
    • Highland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
      • Highland is located in Osceola County
    • Dighton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dighton
      • Dighton is located in Osceola County
  • Roscommon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • Houghton Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Houghton Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houghton Lake
      • Houghton Lake is located in Roscommon County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Houghton Lake <2>
    • Prudenville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prudenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prudenville
      • Prudenville is located in Roscommon County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prudenville <2>
    • Houghton Lake Heights
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Houghton Lake Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houghton Lake Heights
      • Houghton Lake Heights is located in Roscommon County
    • Nellsville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nellsville
      • Nellsville is located in Roscommon County
    • Hillcrest
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
      • Hillcrest is located in Roscommon County
    • Saint Helen
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Harrison ...

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 73 newspapers that have been published in the area around Harrison.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Harrison. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Harrison and those printed in the larger area surrounding Harrison.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3> of Harrison.

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 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 Harrison:

Cemeteries Near Harrison ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Harrison.

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

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

  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Grove Cemetery
  • St. Athanasius Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Athanasius Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Athanasius Cemetery
  • Pleasant Plains Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Plains Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Plains Cemetery
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
  • Ott Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ott Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ott Cemetery
  • Hamilton Cedar Crest Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Frost Twp. Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Frost Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Frost Twp. Cemetery
  • Hatton Twp. Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Lincoln Twp. Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lincoln Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lincoln Twp. Cemetery
  • Wilson Grove Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilson Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilson Grove Cemetery
  • Arthur Twp. Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. John's Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
  • Continue List   (118 more) ...
    • Hamilton Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Summerfield Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Summerfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Summerfield Cemetery
    • Wood Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wood Cemetery

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Harrison had a population of 752 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Harrison had a population of 2,062 people.

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

  • Hatton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hatton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
    • Hatton is located in Clare County
  • Lake George
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake George
    • Lake George is located in Clare County
  • Dover
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
    • Dover is located in Clare County
  • Temple
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Temple have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple
    • Temple is located in Clare County
  • Meredith
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith
    • Meredith is located in Clare County
  • Farwell
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Clare
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Lake
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake
    • Lake is located in Clare County
    • Former name for Lake:
    • Lake Station
  • Gladwin
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Moddersville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moddersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moddersville
    • Moddersville is located in Missaukee County
  • Loomis
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loomis
    • Loomis is located in Isabella County
  • Vogel Center
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vogel Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vogel Center
    • Vogel Center is located in Missaukee County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Beaverton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • McClure
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McClure have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClure
      • McClure is located in Gladwin County
    • Butman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Butman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butman
      • Butman is located in Gladwin County

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

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

The official website for Clare County: www.clareco.net/

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Harrison) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Harrison. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.0190, Longitude: -84.8005    
<4>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.
<5>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 Harrison, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024