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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 Mendon (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 Mendon. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Mendon is located in Saint Joseph 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 Saint Joseph County: Elkhart (IN), LaGrange (IN), Branch, Cass & Kalamazoo.

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

  • Saint Joseph County     (The home county of Mendon)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mendon, with the one closest to Mendon listed first.
    • Wasepi
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Wasepi is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasepi
    • Parkville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Parkville is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkville
    • Leonidas
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Fairfax
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairfax is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax
    • Nottawa
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Centreville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Centreville is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,400 people
    • Colon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Colon is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,155 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colon <1>
    • Factoryville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Factoryville is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Factoryville
    • Findley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Findley is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Findley
    • Three Rivers
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Burr Oak
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Bluff Beach
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Bluff Beach is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Beach
    • Sturgis
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Sturgis is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,803 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sturgis <1>
  • Barry County
  • Branch County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mendon, with the one closest to Mendon listed first.
    • Sherwood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Sherwood is located in Branch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
    • Matteson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Matteson is located in Branch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matteson
    • Union City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Bronson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Batavia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Batavia is located in Branch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
    • Hodunk
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Hodunk is located in Branch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodunk
    • Hatmaker
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Hatmaker is located in Branch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
    • Gilead
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Gilead is located in Branch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
    • Coldwater
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Girard
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Girard is located in Branch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard
    • Trailtree Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Trailtree Village is located in Branch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailtree Village
    • Canada Shores
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Canada Shores is located in Branch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Shores
    • Quincy
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mendon, with the one closest to Mendon listed first.
    • Athens
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • East Leroy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • East Leroy is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Leroy
    • West Leroy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • West Leroy is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leroy
    • Joppa
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Joppa is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa
    • Sonoma
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Sonoma is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonoma
    • Burlington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Burlington is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 277 people
    • Fort Custer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Fort Custer is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Custer
      • Former name for Fort Custer:
      • Camp Custer
    • Beadle Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Beadle Lake is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beadle Lake
    • Tekonsha
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Springfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Level Park
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Level Park is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Level Park
    • Oak Park
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Oak Park is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park
    • Battle Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mendon, with the one closest to Mendon listed first.
    • Corey
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Corey is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corey
    • Marcellus
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Jones
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Wakelee
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Wakelee is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakelee
    • Vandalia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Vandalia is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
    • Penn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Penn is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn
    • Union
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Brownsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Brownsville is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
    • Cassopolis
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • La Grange
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • La Grange is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Grange
  • Kalamazoo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mendon, with the one closest to Mendon listed first.
    • Vicksburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Fulton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Fulton is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
    • Schoolcraft
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Pavillion Center
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Pavillion Center is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavillion Center
    • Scotts
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Portage
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Climax
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Climax is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climax
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
    • Milwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Milwood is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milwood
    • Comstock
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Comstock is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
    • Galesburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Eastwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Eastwood is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastwood
    • Kalamazoo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Oshtemo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Van Buren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mendon, with the one closest to Mendon listed first.
    • Lawton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Lawton is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,796 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lawton <1>
    • Mattawan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Almena
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Almena is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
    • Paw Paw
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Decatur
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • North Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • North Lake is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lake
    • Kendall
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Kendall is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
  • Elkhart County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mendon, with the one closest to Mendon listed first.
    • Middlebury
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bristol
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Bristol is located in Elkhart County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,697 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bristol <1>
  • LaGrange County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mendon, with the one closest to Mendon listed first.
    • Howe
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Scott
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Scott is located in LaGrange County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott
    • Brighton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Brighton is located in LaGrange County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
    • Seyberts
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Seyberts is located in LaGrange County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyberts
    • Greenfield Mills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
    • Shipshewana
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • LaGrange
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • LaGrange is located in LaGrange County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaGrange
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,802 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for LaGrange <1>
    • Mongo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Plato
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Plato is located in LaGrange County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato
    • Brushy Prairie
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Brushy Prairie is located in LaGrange County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Prairie
    • Valentine
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Valentine is located in LaGrange County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
  • Steuben County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mendon, with the one closest to Mendon listed first.
    • Orland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Orland is located in Steuben County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 426 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orland <1>
    • Jamestown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jamestown is located in Steuben County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown

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

Cemeteries Near Mendon ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mendon.

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

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

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

  • St. Edward's Catholic Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Mendon Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Laird Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Sprung Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Scott Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Dutton Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Culberson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Hassic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Babcock Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • McAuley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Leonidas Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (317 more) ...
    • Beard Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Parkville Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • South Park Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Mendon had a population of 808 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Mendon had a population of 848 people.

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

  • Wasepi
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Wasepi is located in Saint Joseph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasepi
  • Parkville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Parkville is located in Saint Joseph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkville
  • Fairfax
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairfax is located in Saint Joseph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax
  • Leonidas
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Centreville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Centreville is located in Saint Joseph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,400 people
  • Nottawa
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Colon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Colon is located in Saint Joseph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colon
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,155 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colon <1>
  • Findley
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Findley is located in Saint Joseph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Findley
  • Vicksburg
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Factoryville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Factoryville is located in Saint Joseph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Factoryville
  • Fulton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Fulton is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
  • Three Rivers
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Pavilion
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Pavilion is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavilion
    • Sherwood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Sherwood is located in Branch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
    • Schoolcraft
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Mendon ...

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 68 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mendon.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Mendon. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Mendon and those printed in the larger area surrounding Mendon.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3> of Mendon.

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 Mendon:

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 Mendon, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Mendon) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.