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 North Byron (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 North Byron. 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 North Byron ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for North Byron: N. Byron
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 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 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.
North Byron is located in Kent 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 Kent County: Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo & Ottawa.
Below are the counties that are near North Byron. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to North Byron:
- Kent County (The home county of North Byron)
- The following are listed by their distance from North Byron, with the one closest to North Byron listed first.
- Byron Center
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Carlisle
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Carlisle is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Cutlerville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Burlingame Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Burlingame Heights is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame Heights
- Burlingame
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Burlingame is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
- Grandville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Wyoming
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Clyde Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Clyde Park is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde Park
- Beverly
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Beverly is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
- Urbandale
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Urbandale is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbandale
- North Dorr
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- North Dorr is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dorr
- Corinth
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Corinth is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Allegan County
- The following are listed by their distance from North Byron, with the one closest to North Byron listed first.
- New Salem
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- New Salem is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- Dorr
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Moline
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Moline is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moline
- Burnips
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Burnips is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnips
- Former name for Burnips:
- Burnip's Corners
- Hilliards
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Hilliards is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilliards
- Wayland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Diamond Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Diamond Springs is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Springs
- Bradley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Bradley is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Hopkins
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Shelbyville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- South Monterey
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- South Monterey is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Monterey
- Fillmore
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fillmore is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
- Barry County
- The following are listed by their distance from North Byron, with the one closest to North Byron listed first.
- Middleville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Irving
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Irving is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
- Freeport
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Hastings
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Doster
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Doster is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doster
- Cloverdale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cloverdale is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Prairieville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Prairieville is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
- Delton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Creek is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek
- Ionia County
- The following are listed by their distance from North Byron, with the one closest to North Byron listed first.
- Elmdale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Elmdale is located in Ionia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
- Clarksville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Campbell Corners
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Campbell Corners is located in Ionia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Corners
- Saranac
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Smyrna
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Odessa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Belding
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Muskegon County
- The following are listed by their distance from North Byron, with the one closest to North Byron listed first.
- Ravenna
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Canada Corners
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Canada Corners is located in Muskegon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Corners
- Slocum
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Slocum is located in Muskegon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slocum
- Fruitport
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sullivan
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sullivan is located in Muskegon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
- Morgan Corners
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Morgan Corners is located in Muskegon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Corners
- Bailey
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Ottawa County
- The following are listed by their distance from North Byron, with the one closest to North Byron listed first.
- Jenison
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Jamestown
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Jamestown is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Hudsonville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Forest Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Forest Grove is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove
- Forest Grove Station
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Forest Grove Station is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove Station
- South Blendon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- South Blendon is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Blendon
- Bauer
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bauer is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauer
- Drenthe
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Drenthe is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenthe
- Marne
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Allendale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lamont
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lamont is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
- Zeeland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to North Byron, see our County-by-County Page for North Byron.
Cemeteries Near North Byron ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of North Byron.
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 North Byron - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for North Byron covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from North Byron, with the one closest to North Byron listed first.
- Boynton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Winchester Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kent Memorial Gardens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- St. Sebastian's Catholic Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Winegar Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Winegar Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Weaver Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Floral View Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hanley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Grandville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandville Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Grandville Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Grandville.
- The Grandville Cemetery has also been known as:
- Wyoming Cemetery
- Wyoming Twp. Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #183676 <2>
- Resurrection Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jenison Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (282 more) ...
- Jamestown Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Star Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- North Dorr Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
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>
While we didn't find North Byron in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of North Byron.
These communities are listed based on their distance from North Byron, with the one closest to North Byron listed first.
- Byron Center
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Carlisle
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Carlisle is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Grandville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Ross
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ross is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
- Jamestown
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Jamestown is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- North Dorr
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- North Dorr is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dorr
- Corinth
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Corinth is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Jenison
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Hudsonville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Forest Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Forest Grove is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove
- Gitchel
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gitchel is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gitchel
- New Salem
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- New Salem is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Dutton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Dutton is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutton
- Zutphen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Zutphen is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zutphen
- Dorr
(8 miles [12.9 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 North Byron. See our List of 1890's Communities around North Byron.
Newspapers Published in North Byron ...
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 219 newspapers that have been published in the area around North Byron.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of North Byron, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for North Byron.
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 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 North Byron:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Kent County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegan County
- Barry County
- Ionia County
- Muskegon County
- Ottawa County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Michigan
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 North Byron, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- North Byron) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |