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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 Oakland (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 Oakland. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Oakland is located in Allegan 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 Allegan County: Barry, Kalamazoo, Kent, Ottawa & Van Buren.

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

  • Allegan County     (The home county of Oakland)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
    • Burnips
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnips
      • Burnips is located in Allegan County
      • Former name for Burnips:
      • Burnip's Corners
    • Diamond Springs
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Springs
      • Diamond Springs is located in Allegan County
    • New Salem
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
      • New Salem is located in Allegan County
    • Hamilton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Fillmore
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
      • Fillmore is located in Allegan County
    • Dorr
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Hilliards
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilliards
      • Hilliards is located in Allegan County
    • South Monterey
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for South Monterey. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Monterey
      • South Monterey is located in Allegan County
    • Hopkins
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hopkins have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopkins
      • Hopkins is located in Allegan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 605 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hopkins <1>
    • Graafschap
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graafschap
      • Graafschap is located in Allegan County
    • Moline
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moline
      • Moline is located in Allegan County
    • Fennville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Barry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
    • Middleville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middleville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleville
      • Middleville is located in Barry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,510 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Middleville <1>
    • Irving
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
      • Irving is located in Barry County
    • Doster
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Doster. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doster
      • Doster is located in Barry County
    • Prairieville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Prairieville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
      • Prairieville is located in Barry County
    • Freeport
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeport have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
      • Freeport is located in Barry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 503 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeport <1>
    • Cloverdale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
      • Cloverdale is located in Barry County
    • Delton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Kalamazoo County
    • Alamo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamo
      • Alamo is located in Kalamazoo County
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
    • North Dorr
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Dorr have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dorr
      • North Dorr is located in Kent County
    • Byron Center
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Corinth
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Corinth. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
      • Corinth is located in Kent County
    • Carlisle
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carlisle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
      • Carlisle is located in Kent County
    • Cutlerville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cutlerville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutlerville
      • Cutlerville is located in Kent County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cutlerville <1>
    • Grandville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Burlingame Heights
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame Heights
      • Burlingame Heights is located in Kent County
    • Burlingame
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
      • Burlingame is located in Kent County
    • Beverly
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
      • Beverly is located in Kent County
    • Clyde Park
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde Park
      • Clyde Park is located in Kent County
    • Wyoming
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Galewood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galewood
      • Galewood is located in Kent County
  • Muskegon County
    • Fruitport
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fruitport have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitport
      • Fruitport is located in Muskegon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,165 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fruitport <1>
  • Ottawa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
    • Drenthe
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Drenthe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenthe
      • Drenthe is located in Ottawa County
    • Forest Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove
      • Forest Grove is located in Ottawa County
    • Forest Grove Station
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove Station
      • Forest Grove Station is located in Ottawa County
    • Jamestown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
      • Jamestown is located in Ottawa County
    • Zeeland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Hudsonville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Waverly
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Waverly. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
      • Waverly is located in Ottawa County
    • South Blendon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Blendon
      • South Blendon is located in Ottawa County
    • Noordeloos
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noordeloos
      • Noordeloos is located in Ottawa County
    • Holland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Beechwood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beechwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood
      • Beechwood is located in Ottawa County
    • Bauer
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bauer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauer
      • Bauer is located in Ottawa County
  • Van Buren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
    • Bloomingdale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Grand Junction
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Lacota
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacota
      • Lacota is located in Van Buren County
    • Kibbie
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibbie
      • Kibbie is located in Van Buren County
    • Gobles
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Kendall
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
      • Kendall is located in Van Buren County
    • Breedsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • North Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lake
      • North Lake is located in Van Buren County
    • South Haven
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bangor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
      • Bangor is located in Van Buren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,808 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bangor <1>
    • Glendale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
      • Glendale is located in Van Buren County

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

Cemeteries Near Oakland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oakland.

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

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

  • Overisel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Overisel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Overisel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bentheim Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bentheim Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bentheim Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • East Drenthe Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Drenthe Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Drenthe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Van Dam Family Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Van Dam Family Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Van Dam Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Drenthe Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Drenthe Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Drenthe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Diamond Springs Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Diamond Springs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Diamond Springs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dowd Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dowd Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dowd Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Vriesland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Vriesland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Vriesland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Burnips Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burnips Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burnips Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Salem Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salem Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • West Drenthe Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • New Overisel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Overisel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Overisel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (246 more) ...
    • Old Overisel Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Overisel Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Overisel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Riverside Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Vriesland Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Oakland had a population of 27 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Drenthe
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Drenthe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenthe
    • Drenthe is located in Ottawa County
  • Diamond Springs
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Springs
    • Diamond Springs is located in Allegan County
  • Gitchel
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gitchel have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gitchel
    • Gitchel is located in Ottawa County
  • Forest Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove
    • Forest Grove is located in Ottawa County
  • Overisel
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Overisel have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overisel
    • Overisel is located in Allegan County
  • Vriesland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vriesland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vriesland
    • Vriesland is located in Ottawa County
  • Fillmore
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
    • Fillmore is located in Allegan County
  • Hamilton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • New Salem
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
    • New Salem is located in Allegan County
  • Zutphen
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zutphen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zutphen
    • Zutphen is located in Ottawa County
  • Beaverdam
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaverdam have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaverdam
    • Beaverdam is located in Ottawa County
  • Jamestown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
    • Jamestown is located in Ottawa County
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • Zeeland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Dunningville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunningville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunningville
      • Dunningville is located in Allegan County
    • North Dorr
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Dorr have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dorr
      • North Dorr is located in Kent County

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

Newspapers Published in Oakland ...

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 156 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oakland.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oakland, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oakland.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Oakland:

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

The official website for Allegan County: www.allegancounty.org/

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>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.
<3>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.
<4>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 Oakland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Oakland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Oakland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.7389, Longitude: -85.9192       In this case, the coordinates for Oakland have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025