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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 McLean (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 McLean. 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 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.

McLean is located in Newaygo 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 Newaygo County: Kent, Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Oceana & Osceola.

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

  • Newaygo County     (The home county of McLean)
    • The following are listed by their distance from McLean, with the one closest to McLean listed first.
    • Bridgeton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Bridgeton is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
    • Sitka
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Sitka is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
    • Brookside
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Brookside is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
    • Bishop
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Bishop is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
    • Reeman
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Reeman is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeman
    • Fremont
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Fremont is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,102 people
      • Former name for Fremont:
      • Fremont Center
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fremont <1>
    • Grant
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Newaygo
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Ashland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Ashland is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
    • Wooster
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Wooster is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooster
    • Sun
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Sun is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun
    • Aetna
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Aetna is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aetna
    • Croton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Croton is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croton
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McLean, with the one closest to McLean listed first.
    • Casnovia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Kent City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lisbon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Lisbon is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
    • Sparta
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Sand Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Cedar Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Edgerton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Edgerton is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
    • Belmont
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Kinney
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Kinney is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinney
    • Rockford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Comstock Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Sheffield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Sheffield is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield
    • Northview
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Northview is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northview
  • Mecosta County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McLean, with the one closest to McLean listed first.
    • Morley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Borland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Borland is located in Mecosta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borland
    • Stanwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Montcalm County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McLean, with the one closest to McLean listed first.
    • Pierson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Howard City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Coral
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Amble
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Amble is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amble
  • Muskegon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McLean, with the one closest to McLean listed first.
    • Brunswick
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Brunswick is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunswick
    • Holton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Morgan Corners
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Morgan Corners is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Corners
    • Wolf Lake
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Wolf Lake is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
    • Twin Lake
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Slocum
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Slocum is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slocum
    • Bailey
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Canada Corners
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Canada Corners is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Corners
    • Ravenna
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Sullivan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Sullivan is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
    • Lakewood Club
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Lakewood Club is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Club
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,292 people
    • Dalton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Dalton is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton
    • Muskegon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Oceana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McLean, with the one closest to McLean listed first.
    • Hesperia
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Ferry
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Ferry is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferry
    • Rothbury
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cobmoosa
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Cobmoosa is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobmoosa
      • Cobmoosa has also been known as:
      • Cob Moo Sa
    • New Era
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Walkerville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Elbridge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Elbridge is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbridge
    • Shelby
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Camp Claybanks ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Camp Claybanks is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Claybanks
    • Hart
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Hart is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hart
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,089 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hart <1>
  • Ottawa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McLean, with the one closest to McLean listed first.
    • Conklin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Nunica
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Wright
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Wright is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
    • Coopersville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Ferrysburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Spring Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Eastmanville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Eastmanville is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastmanville
    • Marne
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Grand Haven
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Lamont
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Lamont is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
    • Allendale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Robinson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Robinson is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
    • Rusk
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Rusk is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rusk

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

Cemeteries Near McLean ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of McLean.

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

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

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

  • Indian Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Bridgeton Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Wilde Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Anthonys Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Holton Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Chidester Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Reeman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Shippy Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Ashland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • St. Michaels Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (207 more) ...
    • Holton Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Maple Grove Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Horton Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)

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.<2>

While we didn't find McLean in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of McLean.

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

  • Bridgeton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Bridgeton is located in Newaygo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
  • Brookside
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Brookside is located in Newaygo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
  • Holton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Fremont
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Fremont is located in Newaygo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,102 people
    • Former name for Fremont:
    • Fremont Center
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fremont <1>
  • Grant
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Moorland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Moorland is located in Muskegon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorland
  • Ashland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Ashland is located in Newaygo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
  • Newaygo
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Twin Lake
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Bailey
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Ravenna
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Sullivan
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Sullivan is located in Muskegon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Harrisburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Harrisburg is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
    • Casnovia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Sun
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Sun is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun

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

Newspapers Published in McLean ...

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 124 newspapers that have been published in the area around McLean.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of McLean, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for McLean.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 McLean:

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>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 McLean, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- McLean) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.