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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 Homestead (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 Homestead. 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.

Homestead is located in Chippewa 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 Chippewa County: Luce & Mackinac.

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

  • Chippewa County     (The home county of Homestead)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Homestead, with the one closest to Homestead listed first.
    • Oak Ridge
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Ridge
      • Oak Ridge is located in Chippewa County
    • Barbeau
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Gardenville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardenville
      • Gardenville is located in Chippewa County
    • Payment
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Payment
      • Payment is located in Chippewa County
    • Stirlingville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stirlingville
      • Stirlingville is located in Chippewa County
    • Dafter
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dafter have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dafter
      • Dafter is located in Chippewa County
    • Sault Sainte Marie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Pickford
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Stalwart
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Stalwart. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stalwart
      • Stalwart is located in Chippewa County
    • Goetzville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goetzville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goetzville
      • Goetzville is located in Chippewa County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Goetzville <1>
    • Kinross
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Brimley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
  • Mackinac County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Homestead, with the one closest to Homestead listed first.
    • Port Dolomite
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Dolomite
      • Port Dolomite is located in Mackinac County
    • Cedarville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hessel
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Simmons ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Simmons. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simmons
      • Simmons is located in Mackinac County
    • Pontchartrain Shores
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pontchartrain Shores
      • Pontchartrain Shores is located in Mackinac County

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

Cemeteries Near Homestead ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Homestead.

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

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

  • Duck Island Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Duck Island Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Duck Island Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Finnish Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Finnish Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Finnish Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Laitinen Family Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Laitinen Family Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Laitinen Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Presbyterian Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Presbyterian Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Presbyterian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Laird Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Wilwalk Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilwalk Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilwalk Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Johnston Family Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Johnston Family Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Johnston Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Joseph Twp. Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Barbeau Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Barbeau Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Barbeau Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gem Island Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gem Island Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gem Island Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Desbarats Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (64 more) ...
    • Mapleleaf Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Rosedale Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rosedale Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rosedale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Bai-de-wasai Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bai-de-wasai Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bai-de-wasai Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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.<6>

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

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

  • Barbeau
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Rosedale
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosedale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
    • Rosedale is located in Chippewa County
  • Donaldson
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Donaldson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
    • Donaldson is located in Chippewa County
  • Stirlingville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stirlingville
    • Stirlingville is located in Chippewa County
  • Pickford
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Stalwart
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Stalwart. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stalwart
    • Stalwart is located in Chippewa County
  • Raber
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raber have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raber
    • Raber is located in Chippewa County
  • Kinross
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Bay Mills
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Mills
    • Bay Mills is located in Chippewa County
  • Rudyard
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Cedarville
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hessel
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Drummond
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drummond
    • Drummond is located in Chippewa County

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

Newspapers Published in Homestead ...

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 19 newspapers that have been published in the area around Homestead.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Homestead, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Homestead.

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 Homestead:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Homestead. 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>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.
<3>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.
<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>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- Homestead) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Homestead. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.3381, Longitude: -84.1225       In this case, the coordinates for Homestead have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>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 Homestead, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025