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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 Holly (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 Holly. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Holly is located in Oakland 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 Oakland County: Genesee, Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Washtenaw & Wayne.

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

  • Oakland County     (The home county of Holly)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holly, with the one closest to Holly listed first.
    • Five Points
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Five Points. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
      • Five Points is located in Oakland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Five Points
      • From Holly to Five Points
    • Newark
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Newark. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
      • Newark is located in Oakland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Newark
      • From Holly to Newark
    • Groveland Corners
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Davisburg
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Austin Corners
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Clyde
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Hickory Ridge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jossman Acres
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Springfield
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Springfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
      • Springfield is located in Oakland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Springfield
      • From Holly to Springfield
    • Seven Harbors
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Andersonville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • White Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • East Highland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Genesee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holly, with the one closest to Holly listed first.
    • Fenton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fenton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
      • Fenton is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,374 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fenton <2>
    • Lake Fenton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lakeside
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bayport Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Linden
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Linden have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
      • Linden is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,954 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Linden <2>
    • Grand Blanc
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Goodrich
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Atlas
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atlas have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlas
      • Atlas is located in Genesee County
    • Argentine
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Argentine have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argentine
      • Argentine is located in Genesee County
    • Burton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Flint
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Swartz Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swartz Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swartz Creek
      • Swartz Creek is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,491 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Swartz Creek <2>
    • Gaines
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Ingham County
    • Webberville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webberville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webberville
      • Webberville is located in Ingham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,300 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webberville <2>
  • Lapeer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holly, with the one closest to Holly listed first.
    • Hadley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hadley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hadley
      • Hadley is located in Lapeer County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hadley <2>
    • Metamora
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Hunters Creek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lapeer
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lapeer have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lapeer
      • Lapeer is located in Lapeer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,452 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lapeer <2>
    • Columbiaville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Dryden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Attica
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Attica have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attica
      • Attica is located in Lapeer County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Attica <2>
    • Almont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Almont have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almont
      • Almont is located in Lapeer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,815 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Almont <2>
    • Otter Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otter Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Lake
      • Otter Lake is located in Lapeer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 377 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Otter Lake <2>
  • Livingston County
  • Macomb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holly, with the one closest to Holly listed first.
    • Miami ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Miami. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miami
      • Miami is located in Macomb County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Miami
      • From Holly to Miami
    • Grays' Mills ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Grays' Mills. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grays' Mills
      • Grays' Mills is located in Macomb County
      • Former names for Grays' Mills:
      • Clifton Mill
      • Clifton Village
      • Clifton
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Grays' Mills
      • From Holly to Grays' Mills
    • Mount Vernon ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Crissmanville ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Depew ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Depew. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Depew
      • Depew is located in Macomb County
      • Depew has also been known as:
      • Depew Siding
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Depew
      • From Holly to Depew
    • Shelby ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shelby. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
      • Shelby is located in Macomb County
      • Shelby has also been known as:
      • Shelby Crossing
      • Shelby Station
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Shelby
      • From Holly to Shelby
    • Thorington ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Thorington. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorington
      • Thorington is located in Macomb County
      • Thorington has also been known as:
      • Thorington Settlement
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Thorington
      • From Holly to Thorington
    • Disco ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Shelby Village ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Washington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Shiawassee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holly, with the one closest to Holly listed first.
    • Byron
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Durand
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Lennon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lennon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lennon
      • Lennon is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 479 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lennon <2>
    • Vernon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bancroft
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bancroft have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
      • Bancroft is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 494 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bancroft <2>
    • Newburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Juddville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Nicholson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nicholson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholson
      • Nicholson is located in Shiawassee County
    • Corunna
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corunna have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
      • Corunna is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,320 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Corunna <2>
    • New Lothrop
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Lothrop have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lothrop
      • New Lothrop is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Lothrop <2>
    • Morrice
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morrice have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrice
      • Morrice is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 906 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morrice <2>
    • Middletown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middletown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
      • Middletown is located in Shiawassee County
    • Perry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Washtenaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holly, with the one closest to Holly listed first.
    • Salem
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Emery
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Emery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emery
      • Emery is located in Washtenaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Emery
      • From Holly to Emery
    • Dover
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Wayne County

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

Cemeteries Near Holly ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Holly.

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

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

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 Holly had a population of 1,266 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Holly had a population of 6,079 people.

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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Holly ...

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 102 newspapers that have been published in the area around Holly.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Holly. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Holly and those printed in the larger area surrounding Holly.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<6> of Holly.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Holly:

The official website for Holly: www.vi.holly.mi.us/

The official website for Oakland County: www.co.oakland.mi.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Holly, 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 from Point A (ie- Holly) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Holly. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.7919, Longitude: -83.6265    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025