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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 Oak Hill (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 Oak Hill. 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 Oak Hill ...

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.

Oak Hill has also been known as: Oakhill.

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 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.

Oak Hill is located in Manistee 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 Manistee County: Benzie, Grand Traverse, Lake, Mason & Wexford.

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

  • Manistee County     (The home county of Oak Hill)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Hill, with the one closest to Oak Hill listed first.
    • Filer City
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Eastlake
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Manistee
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Parkdale
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Douglas
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Douglas have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
      • Douglas is located in Manistee County
    • Udell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Norwalk
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Norwalk. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
      • Norwalk is located in Manistee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Norwalk
      • From Oak Hill to Norwalk
    • Onekama
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Onekama have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onekama
      • Onekama is located in Manistee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 407 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Onekama <1>
    • Chief Lake
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chief Lake. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chief Lake
      • Chief Lake is located in Manistee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Chief Lake
      • From Oak Hill to Chief Lake
    • Brethren
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brethren have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brethren
      • Brethren is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brethren <1>
    • Bear Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Kaleva
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kaleva have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaleva
      • Kaleva is located in Manistee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kaleva <1>
  • Benzie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Hill, with the one closest to Oak Hill listed first.
    • Elberta
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Thompsonville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Frankfort
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frankfort have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankfort
      • Frankfort is located in Benzie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,289 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frankfort <1>
    • Benzonia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Beulah
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beulah have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
      • Beulah is located in Benzie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 347 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beulah <1>
    • Nessen City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Griner Station
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Griner Station. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griner Station
      • Griner Station is located in Benzie County
      • Griner Station has also been known as:
      • Print
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Griner Station
      • From Oak Hill to Griner Station
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Hill, with the one closest to Oak Hill listed first.
    • Sauble
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sauble. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sauble
      • Sauble is located in Lake County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sauble
      • From Oak Hill to Sauble
    • Irons
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Peacock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
  • Mason County
  • Wexford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Hill, with the one closest to Oak Hill listed first.
    • Yuma
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Yuma. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuma
      • Yuma is located in Wexford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Yuma
      • From Oak Hill to Yuma
    • Hoxeyville ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hoxeyville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoxeyville
      • Hoxeyville is located in Wexford County
      • Hoxeyville has also been known as:
      • Clay Hill
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hoxeyville
      • From Oak Hill to Hoxeyville
    • Harrietta
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrietta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrietta
      • Harrietta is located in Wexford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harrietta <1>
    • Bagnall
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bagnall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagnall
      • Bagnall is located in Wexford County

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

Cemeteries Near Oak Hill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak Hill.

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 Oak Hill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oak Hill, with the one closest to Oak Hill 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 in 1895, Oak Hill had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Filer City
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Stronach
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stronach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stronach
    • Stronach is located in Manistee County
  • Manistee
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Eastlake
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Free Soil
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Onekama Junction
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Onekama Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onekama Junction
    • Onekama Junction is located in Manistee County
  • Onekama
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Onekama have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onekama
    • Onekama is located in Manistee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 407 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Onekama <1>
  • Fountain
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Chief Lake
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chief Lake. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chief Lake
    • Chief Lake is located in Manistee County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Chief Lake
    • From Oak Hill to Chief Lake
  • Pierport
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pierport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierport
    • Pierport is located in Manistee County
  • Sugar Grove
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Bear Lake
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Batcheller ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Batcheller. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batcheller
      • Batcheller is located in Mason County
      • Batcheller has also been known as:
      • Turtle Lake
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Batcheller
      • From Oak Hill to Batcheller
    • Amber
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Scottville
      (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 Oak Hill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oak Hill.

Newspapers Published in Oak Hill ...

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 63 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Hill.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak Hill, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oak Hill.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Oak Hill:

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

The official website for Manistee County: www.manistee.com/~edo/

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

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 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>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.
<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 Oak Hill, 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' (or 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- Oak Hill) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Oak Hill. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.2228, Longitude: -86.3041    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025