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The Commemorative Quarter for Michigan





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 Ionia (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 Ionia. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Ionia is located in Ionia County and is the County Seat.

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 Ionia County: Barry, Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Kent & Montcalm.

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

  • Ionia County     (The home county of Ionia)
  • Barry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ionia, with the one closest to Ionia listed first.
    • Woodland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Freeport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
      • Freeport is located in Barry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 503 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeport <1>
    • Morgan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Morgan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
      • Morgan is located in Barry County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Morgan
      • From Ionia to Morgan
    • Nashville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nashville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville
      • Nashville is located in Barry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,696 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nashville <1>
    • Hastings
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Irving
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Middleville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middleville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleville
      • Middleville is located in Barry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,510 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Middleville <1>
    • Maple Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ionia, with the one closest to Ionia listed first.
    • Westphalia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Fowler
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Eagle
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Maple Rapids
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Rapids have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Rapids
      • Maple Rapids is located in Clinton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 671 people
    • Saint Johns
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Johns have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
      • Saint Johns is located in Clinton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,904 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Johns <1>
    • De Witt
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • East DeWitt
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Eureka
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eureka have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
      • Eureka is located in Clinton County
    • Price
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Price. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price
      • Price is located in Clinton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Price
      • From Ionia to Price
    • Gunnisonville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Clinton Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clinton Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton Village
      • Clinton Village is located in Clinton County
  • Eaton County
  • Gratiot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ionia, with the one closest to Ionia listed first.
    • Middleton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Perrinton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Sumner
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Pompeii
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Elm Hall
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elm Hall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Hall
      • Elm Hall is located in Gratiot County
    • Riverdale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverdale
      • Riverdale is located in Gratiot County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riverdale <1>
  • Ingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ionia, with the one closest to Ionia listed first.
    • Edgemont Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edgemont Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgemont Park
      • Edgemont Park is located in Ingham County
    • North Lansing
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ionia, with the one closest to Ionia listed first.
    • Lowell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Segwun
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Grattan
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Parnell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Parnell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnell
      • Parnell is located in Kent County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Parnell
      • From Ionia to Parnell
    • Alto
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alto have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
      • Alto is located in Kent County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alto <1>
    • Ada
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ada have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
      • Ada is located in Kent County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ada <1>
    • Cannonsburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Forest Hills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
      • Forest Hills is located in Kent County
    • Harvard
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Harvard. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard
      • Harvard is located in Kent County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Harvard
      • From Ionia to Harvard
    • Sheffield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Caledonia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Rockford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockford
      • Rockford is located in Kent County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,395 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockford <1>
    • East Grand Rapids
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Montcalm County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ionia, with the one closest to Ionia listed first.
    • Fenwick
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Amsden
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Vickeryville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Sheridan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Butternut
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Eureka Place
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eureka Place. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Place
      • Eureka Place is located in Montcalm County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Eureka Place
      • From Ionia to Eureka Place
    • Greenville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
      • Greenville is located in Montcalm County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,386 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenville <1>
    • Carson City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carson City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson City
      • Carson City is located in Montcalm County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,105 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carson City <1>
    • Sidney
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sidney have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
      • Sidney is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sidney <1>
    • Crystal
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Stanton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stanton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanton
      • Stanton is located in Montcalm County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,420 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stanton <1>
    • Gowen
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gowen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowen
      • Gowen is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gowen <1>
    • Langston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Langston. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langston
      • Langston is located in Montcalm County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Langston
      • From Ionia to Langston

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

Cemeteries Near Ionia ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ionia.

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

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

  • Oakhill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakhill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oakhill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Balcom Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Balcom Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Balcom Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sunset Memorial Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunset Memorial Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunset Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Tuttle Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Highland Park Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Highland Park Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Highland Park Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Higbee Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Higbee Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Higbee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ionia County Poor Farm Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ionia County Poor Farm Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ionia County Poor Farm Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Easton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Easton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Easton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Letts Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Letts Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Letts Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Steel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Steel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Steel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Keefer Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Keefer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Keefer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (271 more) ...
    • Lyons Twp. Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lyons Twp. Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lyons Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Muir Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Muir Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Muir Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • North Plains Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Plains Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Plains 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Ionia had a population of 4,482 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Ionia had a population of 10,997 people.

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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ionia ...

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 158 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ionia.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ionia. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ionia and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ionia.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Ionia.

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 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 Ionia:

The official website for Ionia: www.city.ionia.mi.us/

The official website for Ionia County: www.ioniacounty.org/

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>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 Ionia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Ionia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ionia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.9874, Longitude: -85.0639    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025