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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 Irons (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 Irons. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.

Irons is located in Lake 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 Lake County: Manistee, Mason, Mecosta, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola & Wexford.

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

  • Lake County     (The home county of Irons)
  • Benzie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Irons, with the one closest to Irons listed first.
    • Griner Station
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Griner Station. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griner Station
      • Griner Station is located in Benzie County
      • Griner Station has also been known as:
      • Print
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Griner Station
      • From Irons to Griner Station
    • Nessen City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nessen City. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nessen City
      • Nessen City is located in Benzie County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Nessen City
      • From Irons to Nessen City
    • Thompsonville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Wallin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Grand Traverse County
  • Manistee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Irons, with the one closest to Irons listed first.
    • Dublin
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Wellston
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Udell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Brethren
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brethren have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brethren
      • Brethren is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brethren <2>
    • Kaleva
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kaleva have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaleva
      • Kaleva is located in Manistee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kaleva <2>
    • Chief Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chief Lake. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chief Lake
      • Chief Lake is located in Manistee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Chief Lake
      • From Irons to Chief Lake
    • Norwalk
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Norwalk. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
      • Norwalk is located in Manistee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Norwalk
      • From Irons to Norwalk
    • Douglas
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Douglas have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
      • Douglas is located in Manistee County
    • Filer City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Eastlake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Oak Hill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Onekama
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Onekama have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onekama
      • Onekama is located in Manistee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 407 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Onekama <2>
    • Manistee
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Irons, with the one closest to Irons listed first.
    • Millerton ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Millerton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
      • Millerton is located in Mason County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Millerton
      • From Irons to Millerton
    • Batcheller ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Batcheller. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batcheller
      • Batcheller is located in Mason County
      • Batcheller has also been known as:
      • Turtle Lake
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Batcheller
      • From Irons to Batcheller
    • Fountain
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Tallman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tallman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallman
      • Tallman is located in Mason County
      • Tallman has also been known as:
      • Weaver
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tallman
      • From Irons to Tallman
    • Free Soil
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Walhalla
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Elm Flats ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elm Flats. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Flats
      • Elm Flats is located in Mason County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elm Flats
      • From Irons to Elm Flats
    • Carr
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carr
      • Carr is located in Mason County
      • Carr has also been known as:
      • Carr Settlement
      • McCumber Settlement
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Carr
      • From Irons to Carr
    • Custer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Sugar Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Scottville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Amber
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Wiley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Newaygo County
  • Osceola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Irons, with the one closest to Irons listed first.
    • Tustin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tustin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tustin
      • Tustin is located in Osceola County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tustin <2>
    • Ashton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ashton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
      • Ashton is located in Osceola County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ashton
      • From Irons to Ashton
    • Le Roy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Reed City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Dighton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Hersey
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hersey have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hersey
      • Hersey is located in Osceola County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 347 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hersey <2>
  • Wexford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Irons, with the one closest to Irons listed first.
    • Hoxeyville ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hoxeyville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoxeyville
      • Hoxeyville is located in Wexford County
      • Hoxeyville has also been known as:
      • Clay Hill
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hoxeyville
      • From Irons to Hoxeyville
    • Harrietta
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrietta have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrietta
      • Harrietta is located in Wexford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harrietta <2>
    • Yuma
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Yuma. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuma
      • Yuma is located in Wexford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Yuma
      • From Irons to Yuma
    • Boon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boon
      • Boon is located in Wexford County
    • Mesick
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mesick have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mesick
      • Mesick is located in Wexford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 407 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mesick <2>
    • Benson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Bagnall
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bagnall have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagnall
      • Bagnall is located in Wexford County
    • Glengary
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Sherman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Meauwataka
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Cadillac
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Buckley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Haring
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Irons ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Irons.

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

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

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Irons had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Sauble
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sauble. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sauble
    • Sauble is located in Lake County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Sauble
    • From Irons to Sauble
  • Wolf Lake
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolf Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
    • Wolf Lake is located in Lake County
  • Hoxeyville ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hoxeyville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoxeyville
    • Hoxeyville is located in Wexford County
    • Hoxeyville has also been known as:
    • Clay Hill
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Hoxeyville
    • From Irons to Hoxeyville
  • Luther
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Fountain
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Batcheller ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Batcheller. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batcheller
    • Batcheller is located in Mason County
    • Batcheller has also been known as:
    • Turtle Lake
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Batcheller
    • From Irons to Batcheller
  • Tallman
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tallman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallman
    • Tallman is located in Mason County
    • Tallman has also been known as:
    • Weaver
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Tallman
    • From Irons to Tallman
  • Free Soil
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Harrietta
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrietta have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrietta
    • Harrietta is located in Wexford County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harrietta <2>
  • Baldwin
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Bristol
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Chief Lake
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chief Lake. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chief Lake
    • Chief Lake is located in Manistee County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Chief Lake
    • From Irons to Chief Lake
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Marilla
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marilla have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marilla
      • Marilla is located in Manistee County
    • Boon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boon
      • Boon is located in Wexford County
    • Stronach
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stronach have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stronach
      • Stronach is located in Manistee County

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

Newspapers Published in Irons ...

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 80 newspapers that have been published in the area around Irons.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Irons, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Irons.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Irons:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Irons. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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- Irons) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Irons. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.1405, Longitude: -85.9166       In this case, the coordinates for Irons 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 Irons, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025