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 Lee Center (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 Lee Center. 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 Lee Center ...
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 Lee Center: Lee Ctr. (or less commonly used: Lee Cen., Lee Cent. or Lee Cntr.)
You might see Lee Centre instead of Lee Center.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Lee Center. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Lee Center.
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.
For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.
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 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.
Lee Center is located in Calhoun 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 Calhoun County: Barry, Branch, Eaton, Hillsdale, Jackson, Kalamazoo & Saint Joseph.
Below are the counties that are near Lee Center. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lee Center:
- Calhoun County (The home county of Lee Center)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lee Center, with the one closest to Lee Center listed first.
- Duck Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Duck Lake is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Lake
- Rice Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Rice Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Creek
- Marengo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Marengo is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
- Marshall
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Pennfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Pennfield is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennfield
- Ceresco
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ceresco is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceresco
- Albion
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Brownlee Park
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Brownlee Park is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownlee Park
- Verona Park
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Verona Park is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona Park
- Battle Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Beadle Lake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Beadle Lake is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beadle Lake
- Bedford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Barry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lee Center, with the one closest to Lee Center listed first.
- Maple Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Maple Grove is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Nashville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dowling
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dowling is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowling
- Morgan
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Morgan is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
- Banfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Banfield is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banfield
- Cedar Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Cedar Creek is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek
- Hickory Corners
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Woodland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Woodland is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 449 people
- Hastings
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cloverdale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Cloverdale is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Delton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Prairieville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Prairieville is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
- Branch County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lee Center, with the one closest to Lee Center listed first.
- Girard
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Girard is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard
- Union City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hodunk
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Hodunk is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodunk
- Clinton County
- Eagle
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Eaton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lee Center, with the one closest to Lee Center listed first.
- Olivet
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ainger
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Ainger is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ainger
- Bellevue
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Charlesworth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Charlesworth is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesworth
- Carlisle
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Carlisle is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Charlotte
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Chester
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Chester is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
- Eaton Rapids
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Gresham
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Gresham is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gresham
- Stalls Corner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Stalls Corner is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stalls Corner
- Petrieville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Petrieville is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petrieville
- Potterville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hillsdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lee Center, with the one closest to Lee Center listed first.
- Litchfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Mosherville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mosherville is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosherville
- Ingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lee Center, with the one closest to Lee Center listed first.
- Onondaga
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Leslie
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- North Leslie
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- North Leslie is located in Ingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Leslie
- Holt
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Mason
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Edgemont Park
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Edgemont Park is located in Ingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgemont Park
- Lansing
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bunker Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Bunker Hill is located in Ingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill
- East Lansing
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- North Lansing
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- North Lansing is located in Ingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lansing
- Ionia County
- Lake Odessa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lee Center, with the one closest to Lee Center listed first.
- Springport
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Devereaux
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Devereaux is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devereaux
- Tompkins
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Tompkins is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tompkins
- Parma
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Berryville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Berryville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryville
- Concord
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Rives Junction
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Rives Junction is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rives Junction
- Sandstone
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sandstone is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandstone
- Spring Arbor
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Woodville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Woodville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Horton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hanover
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Kalamazoo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lee Center, with the one closest to Lee Center listed first.
- Augusta
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Climax
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Climax is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climax
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- South Gull Lake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- South Gull Lake is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gull Lake
- Yorkville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Yorkville is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkville
- Highland Park
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Highland Park is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
- Galesburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Richland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Scotts
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Lee Center, see our County-by-County Page for Lee Center.
Cemeteries Near Lee Center ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lee Center.
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 Lee Center - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Lee Center covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lee Center, with the one closest to Lee Center listed first.
- Lee Center Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Partello Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Olivet Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- North Clarence Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Bosworth Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Porter Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Rice Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Nichols Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichols Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Nichols Cemetery is located 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the north of Albion.
- The Nichols Cemetery has also been known as:
- Clarence District Number Four Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1960149 <2>
- Carrier Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Sowles Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Austin Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sampson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (302 more) ...
- Clarence Center Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Perry Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hotchkiss Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Lee Center in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Lee Center.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Lee Center, with the one closest to Lee Center listed first.
- Partello
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Partello is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Partello
- Olivet
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rice Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Rice Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Creek
- Ainger
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Ainger is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ainger
- Duck Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Duck Lake is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Lake
- Brookfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Brookfield is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield
- Bellevue
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Marengo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Marengo is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
- Springport
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Marshall
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Carlisle
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Carlisle is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Devereaux
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Devereaux is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devereaux
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Charlesworth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Charlesworth is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesworth
- Kalamo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kalamo is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalamo
- Charlotte
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Lee Center. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lee Center.
Newspapers Published in Lee Center ...
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 78 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lee Center.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lee Center, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lee Center.
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 Lee Center:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Calhoun County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barry County
- Branch County
- Clinton County
- Eaton County
- Hillsdale County
- Ingham County
- Ionia County
- Jackson County
- Kalamazoo 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Lee Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Lee Center, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |