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 Hilltop (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 Hilltop. 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.
Hilltop is located in Grand Traverse 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 Grand Traverse County: Antrim, Benzie, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee, Missaukee & Wexford.
Below are the counties that are near Hilltop. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hilltop:
- Grand Traverse County (The home county of Hilltop)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
- Grawn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pavlovic Corner
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Pavlovic Corner is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavlovic Corner
- Kingsley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mayfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mayfield is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
- Interlochen
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Karlin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Karlin is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karlin
- Summit City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Summit City is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit City
- Traverse City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Devils Elbow
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Devils Elbow is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devils Elbow
- Acme
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Walton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Walton is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walton
- Walton has also been known as:
- Walton Junction
- Williamsburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mabel
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Mabel is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
- Antrim County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
- Elk Rapids
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Kewadin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Alden
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Clam Lake ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Clam Lake is located in Antrim County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clam Lake
- Benzie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
- Bendon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bendon is located in Benzie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bendon
- Griner Station
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Griner Station is located in Benzie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griner Station
- Griner Station has also been known as:
- Print
- Wallin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Wallin is located in Benzie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallin
- Lake Ann
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Nessen City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Nessen City is located in Benzie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nessen City
- Platte River
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Platte River is located in Benzie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte River
- Thompsonville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Honor
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Benzonia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Beulah
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Aral ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Aral is located in Benzie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aral
- Aral has also been known as:
- Otter Creek
- Elberta
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Frankfort
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Kalkaska County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
- Fife Lake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- South Boardman
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Deibert
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Deibert is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deibert
- Barker Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Barker Creek is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Creek
- Lodi
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Lodi is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Rapid City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Torch River
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Torch River is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Torch River
- Kalkaska
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Spencer
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Spencer is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer
- Sharon ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Sharon is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Sharon has also been known as:
- Big Oley
- Jam One
- Sigma
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Sigma is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigma
- Leelanau County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
- Greilickville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Greilickville is located in Leelanau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greilickville
- Hatchs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Hatchs is located in Leelanau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchs
- Solon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Solon is located in Leelanau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solon
- Cedar
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bingham
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Bingham is located in Leelanau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bingham
- Isadore ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Isadore is located in Leelanau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isadore
- Jacktown ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Jacktown is located in Leelanau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacktown
- Jacktown has also been known as:
- Osborn
- Maple City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bodus
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Bodus is located in Leelanau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bodus
- Burdickville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Burdickville is located in Leelanau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdickville
- Schomberg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Schomberg is located in Leelanau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schomberg
- Shalda Corners ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Shalda Corners is located in Leelanau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shalda Corners
- Empire
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Manistee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
- Harlan ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Harlan is located in Manistee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan
- Pomona
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pomona is located in Manistee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
- Copemish
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Henry ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Henry is located in Manistee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
- Humphrey
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Humphrey is located in Manistee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humphrey
- Kaleva
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Malcolm
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Malcolm is located in Manistee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malcolm
- Bear Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Brethren
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Chief Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Chief Lake is located in Manistee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chief Lake
- Arcadia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Wellston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Missaukee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
- Jennings
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jennings is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings
- Lake City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cutcheon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cutcheon is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutcheon
- Stittsville ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Stittsville is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stittsville
- Wexford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
- Buckley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Baxter
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Baxter is located in Wexford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
- Bagnall
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Bagnall is located in Wexford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagnall
- Glengary
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Glengary is located in Wexford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glengary
- Sherman
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Sherman is located in Wexford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman
- Mesick
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Meauwataka
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Meauwataka is located in Wexford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meauwataka
- Yuma
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Yuma is located in Wexford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuma
- Manton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Harrietta
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Boon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Boon is located in Wexford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boon
- Bond's Mills ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bond's Mills is located in Wexford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bond's Mills
- Millersville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Millersville is located in Wexford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hilltop, see our County-by-County Page for Hilltop.
Cemeteries Near Hilltop ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hilltop.
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 Hilltop - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hilltop covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
- Monroe Center Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- St. Mary's Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Downs Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- De Lorme Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Blackman Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fowler Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Barnum Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Koch Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Grant Methodist Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Grant Twp. Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Seegmiller Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (152 more) ...
- Evergreen Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Cornell Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Memorial Gardens Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
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 Hilltop in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Hilltop.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
- Monroe Center
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Monroe Center is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe Center
- Hannah
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hannah is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hannah
- Grawn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Kingsley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mayfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mayfield is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
- Interlochen
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Summit City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Summit City is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit City
- Bendon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bendon is located in Benzie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bendon
- Traverse City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Nessen City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Nessen City is located in Benzie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nessen City
- Cedar Run
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Run is located in Benzie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Run
- Lake Ann
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Harlan ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Harlan is located in Manistee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan
- Sherman
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Sherman is located in Wexford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman
- Acme
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hilltop. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hilltop.
Newspapers Published in Hilltop ...
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 76 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hilltop.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hilltop, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hilltop.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Hilltop:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Grand Traverse County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Antrim County
- Benzie County
- Kalkaska County
- Leelanau County
- Manistee County
- Missaukee County
- Wexford County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Michigan
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 Hilltop, 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 from Point A (ie- Hilltop) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |