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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 Laing (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 Laing. 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 and doctors 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.

Laing is located in Sanilac 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 Sanilac County: Huron, Lapeer, Saint Clair & Tuscola.

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

  • Sanilac County     (The home county of Laing)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laing, with the one closest to Laing listed first.
    • Argyle
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
      • Argyle is located in Sanilac County
    • Snover
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snover
      • Snover is located in Sanilac County
    • Elmer
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmer
      • Elmer is located in Sanilac County
    • Decker
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decker
      • Decker is located in Sanilac County
    • Sandusky
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
      • Sandusky is located in Sanilac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,494 people
      • Former name for Sandusky:
      • Sanilac Centre
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sandusky <1>
    • Hemans
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hemans. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemans
      • Hemans is located in Sanilac County
    • Deckerville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deckerville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deckerville
      • Deckerville is located in Sanilac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 775 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deckerville <1>
    • McGregor
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for McGregor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGregor
      • McGregor is located in Sanilac County
    • Berkshire ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berkshire. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkshire
      • Berkshire is located in Sanilac County
    • Tyre
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyre
      • Tyre is located in Sanilac County
    • Palms
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palms
      • Palms is located in Sanilac County
    • Juhl
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Juhl. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juhl
      • Juhl is located in Sanilac County
  • Huron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laing, with the one closest to Laing listed first.
    • Ubly
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Ruth
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ruth have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
      • Ruth is located in Huron County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ruth <1>
    • Bad Axe
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bad Axe have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bad Axe
      • Bad Axe is located in Huron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,889 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bad Axe <1>
    • White Rock
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
      • White Rock is located in Huron County
    • Helena
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Helena. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
      • Helena is located in Huron County
    • Owendale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Owendale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owendale
      • Owendale is located in Huron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Owendale <1>
    • Rapson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapson
      • Rapson is located in Huron County
    • Bach
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bach
      • Bach is located in Huron County
    • Elkton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Filion
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Filion
      • Filion is located in Huron County
    • Harbor Beach
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor Beach
      • Harbor Beach is located in Huron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,570 people
      • Former name for Harbor Beach:
      • Sand Beach
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harbor Beach <1>
    • Kilmanagh
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilmanagh
      • Kilmanagh is located in Huron County
  • Lapeer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laing, with the one closest to Laing listed first.
    • Clifford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clifford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
      • Clifford is located in Lapeer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 323 people
    • Silverwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silverwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverwood
      • Silverwood is located in Lapeer County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Silverwood <1>
    • Brown City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Burnside
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Burnside. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
      • Burnside is located in Lapeer County
    • North Branch
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Kings Mill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Mill
      • Kings Mill is located in Lapeer County
    • Barnes Lake - Millers Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Saint Clair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laing, with the one closest to Laing listed first.
    • Yale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yale
      • Yale is located in Saint Clair County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,861 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yale <1>
    • Jeddo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jeddo have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeddo
      • Jeddo is located in Saint Clair County
  • Tuscola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laing, with the one closest to Laing listed first.
    • Deford
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deford
      • Deford is located in Tuscola County
    • Cass City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cass City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cass City
      • Cass City is located in Tuscola County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,273 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cass City <1>
    • Wilmot
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
      • Wilmot is located in Tuscola County
    • Kingston
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Gagetown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gagetown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gagetown
      • Gagetown is located in Tuscola County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gagetown <1>
    • Elmwood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood
      • Elmwood is located in Tuscola County
    • Caro
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caro
      • Caro is located in Tuscola County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,993 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Caro <1>
    • Mayville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Colling
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Colling. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colling
      • Colling is located in Tuscola County
    • Wahjamega
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wahjamega. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahjamega
      • Wahjamega is located in Tuscola County
    • Fostoria
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fostoria have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fostoria
      • Fostoria is located in Tuscola County
    • Juniata
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniata
      • Juniata is located in Tuscola County

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

Cemeteries Near Laing ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Laing.

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

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

  • Argyle Twp. Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Lutheran Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Johnson Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Johnson Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<5> to the southeast of Snover.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #814 <4>
  • Wheatland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wheatland Cemetery
    • The Wheatland Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hillside Cemetery
    • Sutherland Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1953 <4>
  • St. Joseph & St. Ignatius Catholic Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph & St. Ignatius Catholic Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Joseph & St. Ignatius Catholic Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<5> to the south of Argyle.
    • The St. Joseph & St. Ignatius Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St. Joseph & St. Ignatius' Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2152513 <4>
  • Evergreen Twp. Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Moore Twp. Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moore Twp. Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Moore Twp. Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<5> to the north of Snover.
    • The Moore Twp. Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Moore Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1095 <4>
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Farnsworth Grave
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Farnsworth Grave
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Farnsworth Grave have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Nicol Family Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nicol Family Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nicol Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • The Nicol Family Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Nicol Union Cemetery
    • Union Burying Ground
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2398814 <4>
  • Moshier Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Hyslop Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (185 more) ...

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>

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

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

  • Argyle
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
    • Argyle is located in Sanilac County
  • Shabbona
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shabbona have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shabbona
    • Shabbona is located in Sanilac County
  • Cumber
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cumber have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumber
    • Cumber is located in Sanilac County
  • Elmer
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmer
    • Elmer is located in Sanilac County
  • Freidberger
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freidberger have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freidberger
    • Freidberger is located in Sanilac County
  • Wickware
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wickware have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickware
    • Wickware is located in Sanilac County
  • Berkshire ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berkshire. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkshire
    • Berkshire is located in Sanilac County
  • Deckerville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deckerville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deckerville
    • Deckerville is located in Sanilac County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 775 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deckerville <1>
  • Palms
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palms
    • Palms is located in Sanilac County
  • Tyre
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyre
    • Tyre is located in Sanilac County
  • Juhl
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Juhl. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juhl
    • Juhl is located in Sanilac County
  • Deford
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deford
    • Deford is located in Tuscola County
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Wilmot
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
      • Wilmot is located in Tuscola County
    • Cash
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cash. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash
      • Cash is located in Sanilac County
    • Minden City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Laing ...

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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Laing.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Laing, 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 Laing.

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 Laing:

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

The official website for Sanilac County: www.sanilaccounty.net/

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>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.
<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 '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- Laing) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Laing. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.5206, Longitude: -82.9338       In this case, the coordinates for Laing 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 Laing, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025