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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 Lansing (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 Lansing. 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 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.

Lansing is primarily located in Ingham County. A portion of Lansing extends into Eaton County and Clinton 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 Ingham County: Clinton, Eaton, Jackson, Livingston, Shiawassee & Washtenaw.

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

  • Ingham County     (The home county of Lansing)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lansing, with the one closest to Lansing listed first.
    • North Lansing
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Edgemont Park
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edgemont Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgemont Park
      • Edgemont Park is located in Ingham County
    • East Lansing
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Lansing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lansing
      • East Lansing is located in Ingham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47,641 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Lansing <2>
    • Okemos
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Holt
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt
      • Holt is located in Ingham County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holt <2>
    • Haslett
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haslett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haslett
      • Haslett is located in Ingham County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haslett <2>
    • Meridian
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Meridian. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
      • Meridian is located in Ingham County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Meridian
      • From Lansing to Meridian
    • Mason
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mason have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
      • Mason is located in Ingham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,389 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mason <2>
    • Pollok ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Williamston
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Dansville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • North Leslie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Leslie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Leslie
      • North Leslie is located in Ingham County
  • Barry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lansing, with the one closest to Lansing listed first.
    • Nashville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nashville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Woodland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Calhoun County
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lansing, with the one closest to Lansing listed first.
    • Clinton Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clinton Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton Village
      • Clinton Village is located in Clinton County
    • Gunnisonville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • De Witt
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Bath
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bath have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
      • Bath is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bath <2>
    • East DeWitt
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Eagle
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Price
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • 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 Lansing to Price
    • Saint Johns
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Johns have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Westphalia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Shepardsville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Ovid
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ovid have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ovid
      • Ovid is located in Clinton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,607 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ovid <2>
    • Fowler
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Eaton County
  • Gratiot County
  • Ionia County
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lansing, with the one closest to Lansing listed first.
    • Berryville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Rives Junction
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rives Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rives Junction
      • Rives Junction is located in Jackson County
    • Tompkins
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tompkins have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tompkins
      • Tompkins is located in Jackson County
    • Springport
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
      • Pleasant Lake is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Lake <2>
    • Munith
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Devereaux
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Livingston County
  • Saginaw County
  • Shiawassee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lansing, with the one closest to Lansing listed first.
    • Shaftsburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Laingsburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laingsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laingsburg
      • Laingsburg is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,283 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Laingsburg <2>
    • Perry
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Morrice
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morrice have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrice
      • Morrice is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 906 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morrice <2>
    • Nicholson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nicholson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholson
      • Nicholson is located in Shiawassee County
    • Burton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Five Points
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Bancroft
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bancroft have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
      • Bancroft is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 494 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bancroft <2>
    • Owosso
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Smith Crossing
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Middletown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middletown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
      • Middletown is located in Shiawassee County
    • Newburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Lansing ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lansing.

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

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

  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Hope Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Deepdale Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. David's Memorial Garden
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Hurd Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hurd Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hurd Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • North Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maple Ridge Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Foote - Rockwell Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Foote - Rockwell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Foote - Rockwell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (278 more) ...
    • Glendale Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Glendale Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Glendale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • River Bend Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the River Bend Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the River Bend Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Gunnisonville Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gunnisonville Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gunnisonville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Lansing had a population of 13,102 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Lansing had a population of 117,540 people.

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

  • North Lansing
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Millett
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millett
    • Millett is located in Eaton County
    • Millett has also been known as:
    • Milletts
  • Packard
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Packard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packard
    • Packard is located in Eaton County
  • Gunnisonville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Holt
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt
    • Holt is located in Ingham County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holt <2>
  • Okemos
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Dimondale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Bath
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bath have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
    • Bath is located in Clinton County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bath <2>
  • De Witt
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • West Windsor
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Wacousta
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wacousta have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wacousta
    • Wacousta is located in Clinton County
  • Grand Ledge
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Ledge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Ledge
    • Grand Ledge is located in Eaton County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,881 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grand Ledge <2>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • North Aurelius
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Aurelius have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Aurelius
      • North Aurelius is located in Ingham County
    • Meridian
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Meridian. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
      • Meridian is located in Ingham County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Meridian
      • From Lansing to Meridian
    • South Riley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Riley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Riley
      • South Riley is located in Clinton County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Lansing ...

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 147 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lansing.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Lansing. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Lansing and those printed in the larger area surrounding Lansing.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Lansing.

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 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 Lansing:

The official website for Lansing: www.cityoflansingmi.com/

The official website for Ingham County: www.ingham.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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>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 Lansing, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Lansing) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Lansing. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.7325, Longitude: -84.5538    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025