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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Mass City (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 Mass City. 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 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.

Mass City is located in Ontonagon 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 Ontonagon County: Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Cook (MN) & Ashland (WI).

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

  • Ontonagon County     (The home county of Mass City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mass City, with the one closest to Mass City listed first.
    • Greenland
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Wainola
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Wainola is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wainola
    • Wasas
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Wasas is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasas
    • Rockland
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Rousseau
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Rousseau is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rousseau
    • Firesteel
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Firesteel is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firesteel
    • Ontonagon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Gem
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Gem is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gem
    • Bruce Crossing
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Paynesville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Paynesville is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
    • Green
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Green is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green
    • Ewen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Baraga County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mass City, with the one closest to Mass City listed first.
    • Pelkie
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Bear Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Bear Town is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Town
    • Watton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Baraga
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Alberta
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Alberta is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
    • Keweenaw Bay
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Keweenaw Bay is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keweenaw Bay
    • L'Anse
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Covington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Houghton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mass City, with the one closest to Mass City listed first.
    • Nisula
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Nisula is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nisula
    • Lake Roland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Lake Roland is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Roland
    • Hazel
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Hazel is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel
    • Kenton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Kenton is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenton
    • Elo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Elo is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elo
    • Toivola
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Sidnaw
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Champion Mine
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Champion Mine is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champion Mine
    • Painesdale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Painesdale is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Painesdale
    • Freda
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Freda is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freda
    • Baltic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Baltic is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltic
    • Beacon Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Beacon Hill is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beacon Hill

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

Cemeteries Near Mass City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mass City.

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 Mass City - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Methodist Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Irish Hollow Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Methodist Rose Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Woodawn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Old Indian Burial Grounds
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Rousseau Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Woodland Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Holy Family Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (30 more) ...
    • St. Henrys Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Henrys Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Henrys Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Nisula.
      • The St. Henrys Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Nisula Lutheran Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2273104 <2>
    • Norwich Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Paynesville Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)

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 Mass City in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Mass City.

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

  • Greenland
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Rockland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Pori
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Pori is located in Houghton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pori
  • Ontonagon
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Bruce Crossing
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Paynesville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Paynesville is located in Ontonagon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
  • Ewen
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Trout Creek
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Matchwood
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Matchwood is located in Ontonagon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matchwood
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Kenton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Kenton is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenton
    • Sidnaw
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Robbins
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Robbins is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robbins
    • Lake Gogebic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake Gogebic is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Gogebic
    • Baraga
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • L'Anse
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Mass City ...

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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mass City.

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

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 Mass City:

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 Mass City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Mass City) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.