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 Houghton Lake (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 Houghton Lake. 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.
Name Variations for Houghton Lake ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Houghton Lake: Houghton Lk.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Houghton Lake is located in Roscommon 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 Roscommon County: Clare, Crawford, Gladwin, Kalkaska, Missaukee, Ogemaw & Oscoda.
Below are the counties that are near Houghton Lake. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Houghton Lake:
- Roscommon County (The home county of Houghton Lake)
- The following are listed by their distance from Houghton Lake, with the one closest to Houghton Lake listed first.
- Houghton Lake Heights
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Houghton Lake Heights is located in Roscommon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houghton Lake Heights
- Nellsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Nellsville is located in Roscommon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nellsville
- Prudenville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Hillcrest
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Hillcrest is located in Roscommon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
- Higgins Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Tent City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Tent City is located in Roscommon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tent City
- Roscommon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Geels
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Geels is located in Roscommon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geels
- Saint Helen
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Clare County
- The following are listed by their distance from Houghton Lake, with the one closest to Houghton Lake listed first.
- Meredith
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Meredith is located in Clare County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith
- Harrison
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Allendale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Allendale is located in Clare County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allendale
- Lake George
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lake George is located in Clare County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake George
- Hatton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hatton is located in Clare County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Dover
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Dover is located in Clare County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Houghton Lake, with the one closest to Houghton Lake listed first.
- Skyline Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Skyline Village is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline Village
- Deerheart Valley
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Deerheart Valley is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerheart Valley
- Pere Cheney ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Pere Cheney is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pere Cheney
- Pere Cheney has also been known as:
- Center Plains
- Cheney
- Rasmus
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Rasmus is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rasmus
- Grayling
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- McIntyre Landing
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- McIntyre Landing is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntyre Landing
- Gladwin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Houghton Lake, with the one closest to Houghton Lake listed first.
- Butman
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Butman is located in Gladwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butman
- Sugar Rapids
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Sugar Rapids is located in Gladwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Rapids
- Gladwin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- White Star
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- White Star is located in Gladwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Star
- Wooden Shoe Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Wooden Shoe Village is located in Gladwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooden Shoe Village
- Kalkaska County
- The following are listed by their distance from Houghton Lake, with the one closest to Houghton Lake listed first.
- Fletcher
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Fletcher is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
- Sharon ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Sharon is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Sharon has also been known as:
- Big Oley
- Jam One
- Angling
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Angling is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angling
- Sigma
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sigma is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigma
- Spencer
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Spencer is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer
- Deibert
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Deibert is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deibert
- Lodi
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lodi is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Missaukee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Houghton Lake, with the one closest to Houghton Lake listed first.
- Merritt
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Star City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Star City is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
- Stratford ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Stratford is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratford
- Moorestown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Moorestown is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorestown
- Vogel Center
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Vogel Center is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vogel Center
- Falmouth
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Stittsville ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Stittsville is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stittsville
- Cutcheon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Cutcheon is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutcheon
- Lake City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- McBain
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Jennings
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Jennings is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings
- Lucas
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Lucas is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucas
- Stoney Corner
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Stoney Corner is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoney Corner
- Stoney Corner has also been known as:
- Stoney Corners
- Ogemaw County
- The following are listed by their distance from Houghton Lake, with the one closest to Houghton Lake listed first.
- Ogemaw Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Ogemaw Springs is located in Ogemaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogemaw Springs
- West Branch
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Damon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Damon is located in Ogemaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damon
- Campbells Corners
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Campbells Corners is located in Ogemaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbells Corners
- Osceola County
- The following are listed by their distance from Houghton Lake, with the one closest to Houghton Lake listed first.
- Marion
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Park Lake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Park Lake is located in Osceola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Lake
- Gormer ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Gormer is located in Osceola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gormer
- Highland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Highland is located in Osceola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
- Avondale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Avondale is located in Osceola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Houghton Lake, see our County-by-County Page for Houghton Lake.
Cemeteries Near Houghton Lake ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Houghton Lake.
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 Houghton Lake - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Houghton Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Houghton Lake, with the one closest to Houghton Lake listed first.
- Roscommon Twp. Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Prudenville Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Markey Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Butterfield Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- East Moddersville Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Star City Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- West Moddersville Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gerrish Twp. Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Heidemann Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Prosper Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Wilson Grove Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Continue List (87 more) ...
- Maple Valley Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Frost Twp. Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Meridith Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Houghton Lake had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Houghton Lake, with the one closest to Houghton Lake listed first.
- Prudenville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Moddersville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Moddersville is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moddersville
- Star City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Star City is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
- Meredith
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Meredith is located in Clare County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith
- Roscommon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Moorestown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Moorestown is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorestown
- Falmouth
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Vogel Center
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Vogel Center is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vogel Center
- Saint Helen
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Stittsville ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Stittsville is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stittsville
- Fletcher
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Fletcher is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
- Butman
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Butman is located in Gladwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butman
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Pere Cheney ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Pere Cheney is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pere Cheney
- Pere Cheney has also been known as:
- Center Plains
- Cheney
- Cutcheon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Cutcheon is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutcheon
- Harrison
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Houghton Lake. See our List of 1890's Communities around Houghton Lake.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Houghton Lake ...
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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Houghton Lake.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Houghton Lake. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Houghton Lake and those printed in the larger area surrounding Houghton Lake.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4> of Houghton Lake.
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 either 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 Houghton Lake:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Roscommon County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clare County
- Crawford County
- Gladwin County
- Kalkaska County
- Missaukee County
- Ogemaw County
- Osceola 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 Houghton Lake, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Houghton Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |