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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 Mancelona (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 Mancelona. 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 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 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.

Mancelona is located in Antrim 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 Antrim County: Charlevoix, Crawford, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska & Otsego.

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

  • Antrim County     (The home county of Mancelona)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mancelona, with the one closest to Mancelona listed first.
    • Wetzel ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Wetzel is located in Antrim County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wetzel
      • Wetzel has also been known as:
      • Wetzell
    • Alba
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bellaire
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Finkton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Finkton is located in Antrim County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finkton
    • Alden
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Clam Lake ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Clam Lake is located in Antrim County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clam Lake
    • Central Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Kewadin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Elk Rapids
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Eastport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Ellsworth
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Charlevoix County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mancelona, with the one closest to Mancelona listed first.
    • Goo ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Goo is located in Charlevoix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goo
    • East Jordan
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Boyne Falls
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Boyne City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Boyne City is located in Charlevoix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyne City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,717 people
      • Former names for Boyne City:
      • Bay Springs
      • Boyne
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boyne City <1>
    • Ironton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Ironton is located in Charlevoix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironton
    • Walloon Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Horton Bay
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Horton Bay is located in Charlevoix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton Bay
    • Norwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Norwood is located in Charlevoix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
    • Zenith Heights
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Zenith Heights is located in Charlevoix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenith Heights
    • Charlevoix
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mancelona, with the one closest to Mancelona listed first.
    • Deward ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Deward is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deward
    • Frederic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • McIntyre Landing
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • McIntyre Landing is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntyre Landing
    • Grayling
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Rasmus
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Rasmus is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rasmus
    • Bucks
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Bucks is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucks
    • Skyline Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Skyline Village is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline Village
    • Pere Cheney ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Pere Cheney is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pere Cheney
      • Pere Cheney has also been known as:
      • Center Plains
      • Cheney
  • Grand Traverse County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mancelona, with the one closest to Mancelona listed first.
    • Tunk ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Tunk is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunk
    • Mabel
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Mabel is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
    • Williamsburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Angel
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Angel is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
      • Angel has also been known as:
      • Angel Station
      • Angell Station
    • Mapleton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Mapleton is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapleton
    • Old Mission
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Acme
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Devils Elbow
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Devils Elbow is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devils Elbow
    • Mayfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Mayfield is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
    • Traverse City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Kalkaska County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mancelona, with the one closest to Mancelona listed first.
    • Westwood
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Westwood is located in Kalkaska County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
    • Rapid City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Kalkaska
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Torch River
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Torch River is located in Kalkaska County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Torch River
    • Barker Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Barker Creek is located in Kalkaska County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Creek
    • Angling
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Angling is located in Kalkaska County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angling
    • Sigma
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Sigma is located in Kalkaska County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigma
    • Lodi
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Lodi is located in Kalkaska County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
    • Spencer
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Spencer is located in Kalkaska County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer
    • South Boardman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Sharon ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Sharon is located in Kalkaska County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
      • Sharon has also been known as:
      • Big Oley
      • Jam One
    • Deibert
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Deibert is located in Kalkaska County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deibert
  • Leelanau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mancelona, with the one closest to Mancelona listed first.
    • Omena
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Peshawbestown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Peshawbestown is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peshawbestown
    • Manseau ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Manseau is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manseau
    • Greilickville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Greilickville is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greilickville
    • Suttons Bay
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Bingham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Bingham is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bingham
    • Hatchs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Hatchs is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchs
  • Missaukee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mancelona, with the one closest to Mancelona listed first.
    • Moorestown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Moorestown is located in Missaukee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorestown
    • Stratford ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Stratford is located in Missaukee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratford
  • Otsego County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mancelona, with the one closest to Mancelona listed first.
    • Elmira
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Waters
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Arbutus Beach
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Arbutus Beach is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbutus Beach
    • Hallock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Hallock is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallock
    • Pearll City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Pearll City is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearll City
    • Gaylord
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Berryville ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Berryville is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryville
    • Lower Chub Landing ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Lower Chub Landing is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Chub Landing
    • Sparr
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Sparr is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparr
    • Vanderbilt
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Johannesburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Roscommon County
    • Tent City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Tent City is located in Roscommon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tent City

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

Cemeteries Near Mancelona ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mancelona.

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 Mancelona - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • St. Anthony's Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Fairview Cemetery (North)
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Fairview Cemetery (South)
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Chestonia Twp. #2 Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Chapman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Westwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Bryden Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Cold Spring Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Star Twp. Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Eldred Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Maplegrove Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (116 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Mancelona had a population of 1,205 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Mancelona had a population of 1,375 people.

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

  • Antrim
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Antrim is located in Antrim County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antrim
  • Wetzel ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Wetzel is located in Antrim County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wetzel
    • Wetzel has also been known as:
    • Wetzell
  • Westwood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Westwood is located in Kalkaska County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
  • Alba
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Leetsville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Leetsville is located in Kalkaska County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leetsville
  • Bellaire
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Finkton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Finkton is located in Antrim County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finkton
  • Chestonia
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Chestonia is located in Antrim County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestonia
  • Clam Lake ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Clam Lake is located in Antrim County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clam Lake
  • Snowflake
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Snowflake is located in Antrim County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowflake
  • Kalkaska
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Barker Creek
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Barker Creek is located in Kalkaska County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Creek
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Elmira
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Central Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Kewadin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Mancelona ...

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 87 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mancelona.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Mancelona. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Mancelona and those printed in the larger area surrounding Mancelona.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Mancelona.

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 Mancelona:

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>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 Mancelona, 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- Mancelona) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.