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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 Hiawatha (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 Hiawatha. 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.

Hiawatha is located in Schoolcraft 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 Schoolcraft County: Alger, Delta, Luce & Mackinac.

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

  • Schoolcraft County     (The home county of Hiawatha)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hiawatha, with the one closest to Hiawatha listed first.
    • Copenhagen Beach
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Copenhagen Beach is located in Schoolcraft County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copenhagen Beach
    • Steuben
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Steuben is located in Schoolcraft County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
    • Manistique
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Minor Beach
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Minor Beach is located in Schoolcraft County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor Beach
    • Elkhorn
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Elkhorn is located in Schoolcraft County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
    • Gulliver
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Creighton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Creighton is located in Schoolcraft County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creighton
    • Walsh
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Walsh is located in Schoolcraft County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsh
    • Parkington ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Parkington is located in Schoolcraft County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkington
    • Blaney Junction
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Blaney Junction is located in Schoolcraft County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaney Junction
    • Cooks
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Germfask
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Alger County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hiawatha, with the one closest to Hiawatha listed first.
    • Shingleton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Doty
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Doty is located in Alger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doty
    • Juniper
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Juniper is located in Alger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniper
    • Indian Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Indian Town is located in Alger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Town
    • Melstrand
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Melstrand is located in Alger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melstrand
    • Wetmore
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Munising Junction
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Munising Junction is located in Alger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munising Junction
    • Munising
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Delta County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hiawatha, with the one closest to Hiawatha listed first.
    • Garden Corners
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Garden Corners is located in Delta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Corners
    • Isabella
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Isabella is located in Delta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella
    • Garden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Nahma
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Saint Jacques
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Jacques is located in Delta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Jacques
    • Ogontz
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Ogontz is located in Delta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogontz
  • Luce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hiawatha, with the one closest to Hiawatha listed first.
    • Carpenter Landing
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Carpenter Landing is located in Luce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter Landing
    • Danaher
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Danaher is located in Luce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danaher
    • Helmer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Helmer is located in Luce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helmer
    • Laketon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Laketon is located in Luce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laketon
  • Mackinac County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hiawatha, with the one closest to Hiawatha listed first.
    • Huntspur
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Huntspur is located in Mackinac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntspur
      • Huntspur has also been known as:
      • Hunt Spur
    • Port Inland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Port Inland is located in Mackinac County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Inland
    • Curtis
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Gould City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Hiawatha ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hiawatha.

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

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

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

  • Hiawatha Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Byers Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Lakeview Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Woods Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Thompson Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Cooks Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Old Cooks Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Blaney Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Germfask Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Old Germfask Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (25 more) ...
    • New Garden Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Boot Hill Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Farley Grave Site
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)

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 Hiawatha in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Hiawatha.

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

  • Manistique
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Gulliver
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Thompson
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Thompson is located in Schoolcraft County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
  • Creighton
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Creighton is located in Schoolcraft County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creighton
  • Cooks
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Germfask
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Shingleton
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Seney
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Isabella
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Isabella is located in Delta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella
  • Corinne
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Corinne is located in Mackinac County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinne
  • Nahma
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Garden
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Gould City
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Munising
    (27 miles [43.5 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 Hiawatha. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hiawatha.

Newspapers Published in Hiawatha ...

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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hiawatha.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hiawatha, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hiawatha.

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 Hiawatha:

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 Hiawatha, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Hiawatha) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.