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 Iron 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 Iron 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 Iron 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.
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 Iron River: Iron Riv.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Iron River. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Iron 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 hospitals 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.
Iron River is located in Iron 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 Iron County: Baraga, Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Marquette, Ontonagon, Florence (WI), Forest (WI) & Vilas (WI).
Below are the counties that are near Iron River. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Iron River:
- Iron County (The home county of Iron River)
- The following are listed by their distance from Iron River, with the one closest to Iron River listed first.
- Mineral Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Mineral Hills is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Hills
- Stambaugh
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Stambaugh is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stambaugh
- Bates Junction
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Bates Junction is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bates Junction
- Caspian
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Gaastra
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Chicagon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Chicagon is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicagon
- Atkinson ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Atkinson is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson
- Gibbs City ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Gibbs City is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibbs City
- Pentoga
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pentoga is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pentoga
- Amasa
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Alpha
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Clinch ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Clinch is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinch
- Baraga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Iron River, with the one closest to Iron River listed first.
- Covington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Watton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Dickinson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Iron River, with the one closest to Iron River listed first.
- Channing
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Sagola
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Gogebic County
- The following are listed by their distance from Iron River, with the one closest to Iron River listed first.
- Katakitckon Indian Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Fuller
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fuller is located in Gogebic County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Watersmeet
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Houghton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Iron River, with the one closest to Iron River listed first.
- Sidnaw
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Kenton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kenton is located in Houghton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenton
- Florence County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Iron River, with the one closest to Iron River listed first.
- Tipler
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Tipler is located in Florence County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipler
- Commonwealth
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Commonwealth is located in Florence County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commonwealth
- Fern ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fern is located in Florence County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern
- Florence
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Florence is located in Florence County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Spread Eagle
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Spread Eagle is located in Florence County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread Eagle
- Forest County (WI)
- Nelma
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Nelma is located in Forest County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelma
- Vilas County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Iron River, with the one closest to Iron River listed first.
- Phelps
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Phelps is located in Vilas County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelps
- Land O'Lakes
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Land O'Lakes is located in Vilas County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Land O'Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
- Conover
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Conover is located in Vilas County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conover
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Iron River, see our County-by-County Page for Iron River.
Cemeteries Near Iron River ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Iron 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 Iron River - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Iron River covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Iron River, with the one closest to Iron River listed first.
- Iron River Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Stambaugh Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Resthaven Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Stambaugh Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Bates Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Indian Burial Ground
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rosehill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Martin Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Lakeview Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hematite Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Crystal Falls City Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Long Lake Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Katakikon Indian Village Cemetery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(22 miles [35.4 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 Iron River had a population of 1,117 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Iron River had a population of 2,827 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Iron River, with the one closest to Iron River listed first.
- Stambaugh
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Stambaugh is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stambaugh
- Beechwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Beechwood is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood
- Atkinson ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Atkinson is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson
- Amasa
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Crystal Falls
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Stager
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Stager is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stager
- Mastodon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Mastodon is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mastodon
- Panola
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Panola is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
- Elmwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Elmwood is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood
- Ridgetop
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ridgetop is located in Florence County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgetop
- Commonwealth
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Commonwealth is located in Florence County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commonwealth
- Florence
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Florence is located in Florence County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Continue List (10 more) ...
- Mansfield ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Mansfield is located in Iron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansfield
- Tamarack
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Tamarack is located in Gogebic County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamarack
- Tamarack has also been known as:
- Tamarack Lake
- Sagola
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Iron River. See our List of 1890's Communities around Iron River.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Iron 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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Iron River.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Iron River. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Iron River and those printed in the larger area surrounding Iron River.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4> of Iron 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 Iron River:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Iron County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Baraga County
- Dickinson County
- Gogebic County
- Houghton County
- Florence County
- Forest County
- Vilas 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 Iron River, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Iron River) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |