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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 Highland (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 Highland. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Highland is located in Osceola 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 Osceola County: Clare, Isabella, Lake, Mecosta, Missaukee, Newaygo & Wexford.

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

  • Osceola County     (The home county of Highland)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland listed first.
    • Park Lake
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Dighton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Marion
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Avondale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Avondale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale
      • Avondale is located in Osceola County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Avondale
      • From Highland to Avondale
    • Tustin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tustin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tustin
      • Tustin is located in Osceola County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tustin <1>
    • Le Roy
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Evart
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evart have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <1>
    • Ashton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ashton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
      • Ashton is located in Osceola County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ashton
      • From Highland to Ashton
    • Sears
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sears have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <1>
    • Hersey
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hersey have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hersey
      • Hersey is located in Osceola County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 347 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hersey <1>
    • Reed City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Clare County
  • Grand Traverse County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland listed first.
    • Walton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Walton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walton
      • Walton is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Walton has also been known as:
      • Walton Junction
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Walton
      • From Highland to Walton
    • Summit City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summit City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit City
      • Summit City is located in Grand Traverse County
  • Isabella County
  • Kalkaska County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland listed first.
    • Fife Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fife Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fife Lake
      • Fife Lake is located in Kalkaska County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fife Lake <1>
    • Deibert
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Lake County
  • Mecosta County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland listed first.
    • Pogy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pogy. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pogy
      • Pogy is located in Mecosta County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pogy
      • From Highland to Pogy
    • Barryton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barryton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <1>
    • Chippewa Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Paris
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Missaukee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland listed first.
    • Stoney Corner
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • McBain
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lucas
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Vogel Center
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Falmouth
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Falmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <1>
    • Jennings
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Lake City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Cutcheon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cutcheon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutcheon
      • Cutcheon is located in Missaukee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cutcheon
      • From Highland to Cutcheon
    • Merritt
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Star City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Star City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
      • Star City is located in Missaukee County
    • Stittsville ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Stittsville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stittsville
      • Stittsville is located in Missaukee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Stittsville
      • From Highland to Stittsville
    • Moorestown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Newaygo County
  • Roscommon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland listed first.
    • Nellsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Houghton Lake Heights
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Houghton Lake Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houghton Lake Heights
      • Houghton Lake Heights is located in Roscommon County
    • Houghton Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Houghton Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <1>
  • Wexford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland listed first.
    • Cadillac
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Haring
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Benson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Missaukee Junction
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Bond's Mills ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Manton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manton
      • Manton is located in Wexford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,591 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manton <1>
    • Boon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boon
      • Boon is located in Wexford County
    • Meauwataka
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Hoxeyville ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hoxeyville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoxeyville
      • Hoxeyville is located in Wexford County
      • Hoxeyville has also been known as:
      • Clay Hill
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hoxeyville
      • From Highland to Hoxeyville
    • Harrietta
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrietta have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrietta
      • Harrietta is located in Wexford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harrietta <1>
    • Yuma
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Yuma. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuma
      • Yuma is located in Wexford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Yuma
      • From Highland to Yuma
    • Baxter
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Baxter. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
      • Baxter is located in Wexford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Baxter
      • From Highland to Baxter

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

Cemeteries Near Highland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Highland.

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

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

  • Hillside Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Highland Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Park Lake Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Park Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Park Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. View Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Richland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Richland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Richland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sherman Twp. Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sherman Twp. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sherman Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maple Valley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Valley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Clam Lake Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clam Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clam Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Watson Road Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Watson Road Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Watson Road Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maple Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (136 more) ...
    • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Hobart Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hobart Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hobart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Green Family Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Green Family Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Green Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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.<5>

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

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

  • Park Lake
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • McBain
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Lucas
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Dighton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Marion
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Avondale
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Avondale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale
    • Avondale is located in Osceola County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Avondale
    • From Highland to Avondale
  • Hobart
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hobart have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobart
    • Hobart is located in Wexford County
  • Tustin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tustin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tustin
    • Tustin is located in Osceola County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tustin <1>
  • Cadillac
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Le Roy
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Vogel Center
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Falmouth
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Falmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <1>
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Highland ...

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 59 newspapers that have been published in the area around Highland.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Highland, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Highland.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Highland:

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

The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/

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>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.
<3>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.
<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 Highland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Highland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Highland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.1457, Longitude: -85.2670    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025