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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 Montague (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 Montague. 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 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 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.

Montague is located in Muskegon 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 Muskegon County: Kent, Newaygo, Oceana & Ottawa.

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

  • Muskegon County     (The home county of Montague)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Montague, with the one closest to Montague listed first.
    • Whitehall
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Sylvan Beach
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Sylvan Beach is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan Beach
    • Wabaningo
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Wabaningo is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabaningo
    • Lakewood Club
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Lakewood Club is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Club
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,292 people
    • Dalton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Dalton is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton
    • Twin Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • North Muskegon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Muskegon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Holton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Roosevelt Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Muskegon Heights
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Brunswick
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Brunswick is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunswick
    • Wolf Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Wolf Lake is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
  • Mason County
    • Fern
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Fern is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern
      • Fern has also been known as:
      • Adamsville
  • Newaygo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Montague, with the one closest to Montague listed first.
    • Reeman
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Reeman is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeman
    • Sitka
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Sitka is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
    • Brookside
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Brookside is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
    • Fremont
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • Bridgeton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Bridgeton is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
    • Huber
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Huber is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huber
    • Bishop
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Bishop is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
    • Aetna
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Aetna is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aetna
    • Wooster
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Wooster is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooster
    • Ashland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Ashland is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
    • Grant
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Newaygo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Oceana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Montague, with the one closest to Montague listed first.
    • Rothbury
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Camp Claybanks ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Camp Claybanks is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Claybanks
    • New Era
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Shelby
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Ferry
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Ferry is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferry
    • Mears
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Hart
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • 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>
    • Cobmoosa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Cobmoosa is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobmoosa
      • Cobmoosa has also been known as:
      • Cob Moo Sa
    • Hesperia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Elbridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Elbridge is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbridge
    • Walkerville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • French Town
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • French Town is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Town
    • Pentwater
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
  • Ottawa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Montague, with the one closest to Montague listed first.
    • Ferrysburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Spring Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Grand Haven
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Nunica
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Montague ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Montague.

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

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

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

  • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Sammis Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Oakhurst Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Mouth Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Old Sprague Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Hubbard Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Duck Lake Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Wave Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Fruitland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (119 more) ...
    • Assumption Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Flower Creek Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Peace Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)

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 Montague had a population of 1,623 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Montague had a population of 2,365 people.

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

  • Whitehall
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Rothbury
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Dalton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Dalton is located in Muskegon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton
  • Twin Lake
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • New Era
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • North Muskegon
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Shelby
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Muskegon
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Ferry
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Ferry is located in Oceana County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferry
  • Holton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Muskegon Heights
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Cloverville
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Cloverville is located in Muskegon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverville
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Mears
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Hart
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • 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>
    • Brookside
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Brookside is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Montague ...

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 103 newspapers that have been published in the area around Montague.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Montague. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Montague and those printed in the larger area surrounding Montague.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3> of Montague.

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 helpful 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 Montague:

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