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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 Mount Forest (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 Mount Forest. 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 Mount Forest ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Mount Forest: Mt. Forest

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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

Mount Forest is located in Bay County.

To see how the shape of Michigan's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Bay County: Arenac, Gladwin, Midland, Saginaw & Tuscola.

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

  • Bay County     (The home county of Mount Forest)
  • Arenac County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Forest, with the one closest to Mount Forest listed first.
    • Standish
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Standish have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standish
      • Standish is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,388 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Standish <3>
    • Saganing
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Whites Beach
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Sterling
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sterling have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
      • Sterling is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sterling <3>
    • Pine River
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Arenac
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arenac. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arenac
      • Arenac is located in Arenac County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Arenac
      • From Mount Forest to Arenac
    • Melita
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Melita. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melita
      • Melita is located in Arenac County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Melita
      • From Mount Forest to Melita
    • Omer
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Omer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omer
      • Omer is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
    • Maple Ridge
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Twining
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twining have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twining
      • Twining is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
    • Au Gres
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Turner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner
      • Turner is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
  • Clare County
  • Gladwin County
  • Iosco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Forest, with the one closest to Mount Forest listed first.
    • Whittemore
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whittemore have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittemore
      • Whittemore is located in Iosco County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 375 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whittemore <3>
    • National City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for National City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for National City
      • National City is located in Iosco County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for National City <3>
  • Isabella County
  • Midland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Forest, with the one closest to Mount Forest listed first.
    • Hope
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
      • Hope is located in Midland County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hope <3>
    • Edenville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edenville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edenville
      • Edenville is located in Midland County
    • Midland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Averill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Averill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Averill
      • Averill is located in Midland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Averill
      • From Mount Forest to Averill
    • Sanford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • North Bradley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Alamando
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alamando. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamando
      • Alamando is located in Midland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Alamando
      • From Mount Forest to Alamando
    • Coleman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Oil City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oil City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
      • Oil City is located in Midland County
    • Porter
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Ogemaw County
  • Saginaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Forest, with the one closest to Mount Forest listed first.
    • Freeland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeland
      • Freeland is located in Saginaw County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeland <3>
    • Kochville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Melbourne ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Melbourne. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbourne
      • Melbourne is located in Saginaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Melbourne
      • From Mount Forest to Melbourne
    • Dice
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Zilwaukee city
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zilwaukee city. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zilwaukee city
      • Zilwaukee city is located in Saginaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,517 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zilwaukee city
      • From Mount Forest to Zilwaukee city
    • Carrollton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Crow Island ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crow Island have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow Island
      • Crow Island is located in Saginaw County
    • Frost
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Frost. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
      • Frost is located in Saginaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Frost
      • From Mount Forest to Frost
    • Iva
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Tuscola County

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

Cemeteries Near Mount Forest ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mount Forest.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Mount Forest had a population of 28 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Nine Mile
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Rhodes
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Pinconning
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinconning have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinconning
    • Pinconning is located in Bay County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pinconning <3>
  • Worth
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Worth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worth
    • Worth is located in Arenac County
  • Standish
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Standish have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standish
    • Standish is located in Arenac County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,388 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Standish <3>
  • Sterling
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sterling have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
    • Sterling is located in Arenac County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sterling <3>
  • Linwood
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Hope
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
    • Hope is located in Midland County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hope <3>
  • Edenville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edenville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edenville
    • Edenville is located in Midland County
  • Willard
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Arenac
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arenac. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arenac
    • Arenac is located in Arenac County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Arenac
    • From Mount Forest to Arenac
  • Alger
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alger have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alger
    • Alger is located in Arenac County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alger <3>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Melita
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Melita. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melita
      • Melita is located in Arenac County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Melita
      • From Mount Forest to Melita
    • Omer
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Omer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omer
      • Omer is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
    • Midland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Mount Forest ...

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 87 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mount Forest.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mount Forest, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mount Forest.

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 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 Mount Forest:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Mount Forest. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Bay County: www.co.bay.mi.us/

The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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 Mount Forest, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Mount Forest) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mount Forest. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.8871, Longitude: -84.1144    









 

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In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025