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 Indian River (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 Indian River. 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 Indian River ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Indian River: Indian Riv.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Indian River. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Indian River.
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 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.
Indian River is located in Cheboygan 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 Cheboygan County: Charlevoix, Emmet, Montmorency, Otsego & Presque Isle.
Below are the counties that are near Indian River. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Indian River:
- Cheboygan County (The home county of Indian River)
- The following are listed by their distance from Indian River, with the one closest to Indian River listed first.
- Giauque Beach
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Giauque Beach is located in Cheboygan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giauque Beach
- Topinabee
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Wildwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Wildwood is located in Cheboygan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
- Burt Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Afton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Veery Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Veery Point is located in Cheboygan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veery Point
- Fingerboard Corner
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Fingerboard Corner is located in Cheboygan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fingerboard Corner
- Long Point
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Long Point is located in Cheboygan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Point
- Wolverine
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Silver Beach
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Silver Beach is located in Cheboygan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Beach
- Mullett Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Mullett Lake is located in Cheboygan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullett Lake
- Riggsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Riggsville is located in Cheboygan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riggsville
- Charlevoix County
- The following are listed by their distance from Indian River, with the one closest to Indian River listed first.
- Walloon Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Zenith Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Zenith Heights is located in Charlevoix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenith Heights
- Boyne Falls
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Boyne City
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Boyne City is located in Charlevoix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyne City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,717 people
- Former names for Boyne City:
- Bay Springs
- Boyne
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boyne City <1>
- Bay Shore
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Bay Shore is located in Charlevoix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Shore
- Horton Bay
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Horton Bay is located in Charlevoix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton Bay
- Goo ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Goo is located in Charlevoix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goo
- Ironton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Ironton is located in Charlevoix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironton
- East Jordan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Emmet County
- The following are listed by their distance from Indian River, with the one closest to Indian River listed first.
- Alanson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Brutus
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ponshewaing
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Ponshewaing is located in Emmet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponshewaing
- Oden
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Pellston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Conway
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Van
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Van is located in Emmet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van
- Bay View
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Kegomic ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Kegomic is located in Emmet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegomic
- Ramona Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Ramona Park is located in Emmet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramona Park
- Petoskey
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Roaring Brook
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Roaring Brook is located in Emmet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roaring Brook
- Mackinac County
- The following are listed by their distance from Indian River, with the one closest to Indian River listed first.
- Pointe Aux Pins
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Mackinac Island
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Mackinac Island is located in Mackinac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackinac Island
- Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
- Montmorency County
- Canada Creek Ranch
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Canada Creek Ranch is located in Montmorency County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Creek Ranch
- Otsego County
- The following are listed by their distance from Indian River, with the one closest to Indian River listed first.
- Green Timbers
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Green Timbers is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Timbers
- Vanderbilt
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Berryville ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Berryville is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryville
- Hallock
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Hallock is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallock
- Sparr
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Sparr is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparr
- Gaylord
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Elmira
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pearll City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Pearll City is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearll City
- Johannesburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Hetherton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hetherton is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hetherton
- Presque Isle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Indian River, with the one closest to Indian River listed first.
- Black Lake Bluffs
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Black Lake Bluffs is located in Presque Isle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Lake Bluffs
- Onaway
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Huron Beach
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Huron Beach is located in Presque Isle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron Beach
- Ocqueoc
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Ocqueoc is located in Presque Isle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocqueoc
- Millersburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Indian River, see our County-by-County Page for Indian River.
Cemeteries Near Indian River ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Indian River.
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 Indian River - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Indian River covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Indian River, with the one closest to Indian River listed first.
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Harmon Grave
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Indian River Catholic Shrine Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Ohioville Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Rondo Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Koehler Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- St. Monica's Catholic Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- St. Mary's Indian Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Burt Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Curtiss Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- African-American Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (105 more) ...
- Silver Lake Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Walker Twp. Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Devereaux Grave
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
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 Indian River had a population of 212 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Indian River, with the one closest to Indian River listed first.
- Wildwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Wildwood is located in Cheboygan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
- Topinabee
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Burt Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Rondo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Rondo is located in Cheboygan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rondo
- Alanson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Epsilon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Epsilon is located in Emmet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epsilon
- Wolverine
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Brutus
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Oden
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Mullett Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Mullett Lake is located in Cheboygan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullett Lake
- Riggsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Riggsville is located in Cheboygan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riggsville
- Trowbridge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Trowbridge is located in Cheboygan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trowbridge
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Pellston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ayr
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ayr is located in Emmet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayr
- Conway
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Indian River. See our List of 1890's Communities around Indian River.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Indian River ...
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 78 newspapers that have been published in the area around Indian River.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Indian River. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Indian River and those printed in the larger area surrounding Indian River.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Indian River.
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 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 Indian River:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Cheboygan County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Charlevoix County
- Emmet County
- Mackinac County
- Montmorency County
- Otsego County
- Presque Isle 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 Indian River, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Indian River) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |