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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 Kellys Corners (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 Kellys Corners. 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 Kellys Corners ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Kellys Corners: Kellys Cors.
  • While the name of this community is Kellys Corners, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Kellys Corners may originally have been Kelly's Corners.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Kellys Corners might be written as Kelly Corners.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Kellys Corners. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Kellys Corners.

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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Kellys Corners is located in Muskegon 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 Muskegon County: Kent, Newaygo, Oceana & Ottawa.

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

  • Muskegon County     (The home county of Kellys Corners)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kellys Corners, with the one closest to Kellys Corners listed first.
    • Slocum
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Slocum is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slocum
    • Morgan Corners
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Morgan Corners is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Corners
    • Ravenna
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Canada Corners
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Canada Corners is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Corners
    • Sullivan
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Sullivan is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
    • Bailey
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Wolf Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Wolf Lake is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
    • Fruitport
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Holton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Twin Lake
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Brunswick
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Brunswick is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunswick
    • Muskegon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Muskegon Heights
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kellys Corners, with the one closest to Kellys Corners listed first.
    • Casnovia
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Kent City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Lisbon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Lisbon is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
    • Sparta
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Kinney
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Kinney is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinney
    • Cedar Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Edgerton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Edgerton is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
    • Comstock Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Belmont
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Walker
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Rockford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Sand Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Northview
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Northview is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northview
  • Mecosta County
    • Morley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Montcalm County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kellys Corners, with the one closest to Kellys Corners listed first.
    • Pierson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Howard City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Coral
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Trufant
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Newaygo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kellys Corners, with the one closest to Kellys Corners listed first.
    • Bridgeton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Bridgeton is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
    • Ashland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Ashland is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
    • Grant
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Sitka
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Sitka is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
    • Sun
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Sun is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun
    • Bishop
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Bishop is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
    • Brookside
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Brookside is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
    • Reeman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Reeman is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeman
    • Newaygo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Fremont
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Fremont is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,102 people
      • Former name for Fremont:
      • Fremont Center
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fremont <2>
    • Wooster
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Wooster is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooster
    • Croton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Croton is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croton
    • Riverview
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Riverview is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
  • Oceana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kellys Corners, with the one closest to Kellys Corners listed first.
    • Hesperia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Ferry
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Ferry is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferry
    • Rothbury
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • New Era
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Ottawa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kellys Corners, with the one closest to Kellys Corners listed first.
    • Conklin
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Coopersville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Wright
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Wright is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
    • Nunica
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Eastmanville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Eastmanville is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastmanville
    • Lamont
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Lamont is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
    • Marne
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Spring Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Ferrysburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Allendale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Robinson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Robinson is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
    • Grand Haven
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Rusk
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Rusk is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rusk

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

Cemeteries Near Kellys Corners ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kellys Corners.

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 Kellys Corners - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Kellys Corners covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Moorland Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Catherine's Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Ravenna Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Bell Place Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Hilton Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Chidester Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Bennet Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Seamans Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Sullivan Twp. Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • McNitt Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Shippy Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Francis Xavier's Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (222 more) ...
    • Indian Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Bridgeton Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • St. Anthonys Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)

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>

While we didn't find Kellys Corners in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Kellys Corners.

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

  • Moorland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Moorland is located in Muskegon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorland
  • Ravenna
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Harrisburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Harrisburg is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
  • Sullivan
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sullivan is located in Muskegon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
  • Casnovia
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Bailey
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Bridgeton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Bridgeton is located in Newaygo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
  • Conklin
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Ashland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Ashland is located in Newaygo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
  • Kent City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Grant
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Lisbon
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Lisbon is located in Kent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Cloverville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Cloverville is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverville
    • Dennison
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Dennison is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennison
    • Coopersville
      (11 miles [17.7 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 Kellys Corners. See our List of 1890's Communities around Kellys Corners.

Newspapers Published in Kellys Corners ...

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 172 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kellys Corners.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Kellys Corners, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Kellys Corners.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Kellys Corners:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Kellys Corners, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Kellys Corners) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.