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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 McBride (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 McBride. 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 McBride ...

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.

Another variation: McBrides.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named McBride. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for McBride.

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.

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 doctors and hospitals 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.

McBride is located in Montcalm 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 Montcalm County: Clinton, Gratiot, Ionia, Isabella, Kent, Mecosta & Newaygo.

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

  • Montcalm County     (The home county of McBride)
    • The following are listed by their distance from McBride, with the one closest to McBride listed first.
    • Edmore
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Stanton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Cedar Lake
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Cedar Lake is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
    • Entrican
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Entrican is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Entrican
    • Wyman
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Wyman is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
    • Vestaburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Vestaburg is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vestaburg
    • Six Lakes
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Sidney
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Sheridan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Crystal
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Langston
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Langston is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langston
    • Vickeryville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Vickeryville is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vickeryville
    • Amsden
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Amsden is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsden
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McBride, with the one closest to McBride listed first.
    • Maple Rapids
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Maple Rapids is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Rapids
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 671 people
    • Fowler
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Gratiot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McBride, with the one closest to McBride listed first.
    • Elm Hall
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Elm Hall is located in Gratiot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Hall
    • Riverdale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Sumner
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Sumner is located in Gratiot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumner
    • Elwell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Forest Hill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Forest Hill is located in Gratiot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hill
    • Alma
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Alma is located in Gratiot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,807 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alma <1>
    • Middleton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Perrinton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Perrinton is located in Gratiot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrinton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 391 people
    • Ithaca
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Saint Louis
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Pompeii
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • North Star
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • North Star is located in Gratiot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Star
      • North Star has also been known as:
      • Northstar
    • Breckenridge
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Ionia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McBride, with the one closest to McBride listed first.
    • Palo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Palo is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palo
    • Shiloh
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Shiloh is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
    • Woods Corners
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Woods Corners is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Corners
    • Belding
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Orleans
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Orleans is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
    • Hubbardston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Matherton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Matherton is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matherton
    • Smyrna
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Muir
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Ionia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Lyons
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • South Ionia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • South Ionia is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ionia
    • Pewamo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Isabella County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McBride, with the one closest to McBride listed first.
    • Blanchard
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Winn
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Winn is located in Isabella County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winn
    • Strickland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Strickland is located in Isabella County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strickland
    • Crawford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Crawford is located in Isabella County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
    • Summerton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Summerton is located in Isabella County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerton
    • Lake Isabella
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Lake Isabella is located in Isabella County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Isabella
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,688 people
      • Lake Isabella has also been known as:
      • Lake Isabella village
    • Mount Pleasant
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Shepherd
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Beal City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Beal City is located in Isabella County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beal City
    • Coe
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Coe is located in Isabella County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coe
    • Weidman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Sherman City ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Sherman City is located in Isabella County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman City
    • Alembic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Alembic is located in Isabella County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alembic
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McBride, with the one closest to McBride listed first.
    • Harvard
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Harvard is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard
    • Sand Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Grattan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Grattan is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grattan
    • Sheffield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Sheffield is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield
    • Cedar Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Parnell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Parnell is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnell
    • Cannonsburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Edgerton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Edgerton is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
    • Rockford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Mecosta County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McBride, with the one closest to McBride listed first.
    • Millbrook
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Millbrook is located in Mecosta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millbrook
    • Halls Corner
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Halls Corner is located in Mecosta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halls Corner
    • Remus
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Rustford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Rustford is located in Mecosta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rustford
    • Canadian Lakes
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Canadian Lakes is located in Mecosta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canadian Lakes
    • Mecosta
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Morley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Borland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Borland is located in Mecosta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borland
    • Stanwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Rodney
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Barryton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Chippewa Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Midland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McBride, with the one closest to McBride listed first.
    • Oil City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Oil City is located in Midland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
    • Redstone
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Redstone is located in Midland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone

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

Cemeteries Near McBride ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of McBride.

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

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

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

  • McBrides Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Palmer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Vinewood Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Forest Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Cedar Lake Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Home Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Hillside Entrican Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Ferris Center Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Richland Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • North Sidney Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Sidney Twp. Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (235 more) ...
    • Hillcrest Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Evergreen Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Klees Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)

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 McBride had a population of 333 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, McBride had a population of 203 people.

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

  • Westville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Westville is located in Montcalm County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville
  • Edmore
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Stanton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Cedar Lake
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cedar Lake is located in Montcalm County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
  • Entrican
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Entrican is located in Montcalm County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Entrican
  • Wyman
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Wyman is located in Montcalm County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
  • Six Lakes
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Sidney
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Sheridan
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Crystal
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Langston
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Langston is located in Montcalm County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langston
  • Elm Hall
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Elm Hall is located in Gratiot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Hall
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Riverdale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Vickeryville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Vickeryville is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vickeryville
    • Sumner
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Sumner is located in Gratiot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumner

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

Newspapers Published in McBride ...

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 209 newspapers that have been published in the area around McBride.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of McBride, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for McBride.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 McBride:

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 McBride, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- McBride) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.