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 Oil City (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 Oil City. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.
Oil City is located in Midland 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 Midland County: Bay, Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot, Isabella & Saginaw.
Below are the counties that are near Oil City. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oil City:
- Midland County (The home county of Oil City)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oil City, with the one closest to Oil City listed first.
- Alamando
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Alamando is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamando
- North Bradley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- North Bradley is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bradley
- Porter
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Porter is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Coleman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Redstone
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Redstone is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
- Sanford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Averill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Averill is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Averill
- Ryan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ryan is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan
- Edenville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Edenville is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edenville
- Hope
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Midland
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Bay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oil City, with the one closest to Oil City listed first.
- Duel
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Duel is located in Bay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duel
- Fisherville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Fisherville is located in Bay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisherville
- Willard
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Willard is located in Bay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
- Auburn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Seidlers
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Seidlers is located in Bay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seidlers
- Amelith
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Amelith is located in Bay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelith
- Mount Forest
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Forest is located in Bay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Forest
- Clare County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oil City, with the one closest to Oil City listed first.
- Clare
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dover
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dover is located in Clare County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
- Farwell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hatton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hatton is located in Clare County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Lake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lake is located in Clare County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake
- Former name for Lake:
- Lake Station
- Allendale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Allendale is located in Clare County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allendale
- Harrison
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Lake George
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lake George is located in Clare County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake George
- Gladwin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oil City, with the one closest to Oil City listed first.
- Beaverton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Highwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Highwood is located in Gladwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highwood
- Gladwin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- White Star
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- White Star is located in Gladwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Star
- Wooden Shoe Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wooden Shoe Village is located in Gladwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooden Shoe Village
- Rhodes
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rhodes is located in Gladwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes
- Gratiot County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oil City, with the one closest to Oil City listed first.
- Forest Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Forest Hill is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hill
- North Wheeler
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- North Wheeler is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wheeler
- Saint Louis
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Breckenridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Wheeler
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Wheeler is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
- Alma
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Elwell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Riverdale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Elm Hall
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Elm Hall is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Hall
- Ithaca
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Edgewood
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Edgewood is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
- Sumner
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Sumner is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumner
- Sickles
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Sickles is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sickles
- Isabella County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oil City, with the one closest to Oil City listed first.
- Alembic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Alembic is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alembic
- Jordan
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jordan is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
- Shepherd
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Coe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Coe is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coe
- Mount Pleasant
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Rosebush
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Crawford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Crawford is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Summerton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Summerton is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerton
- Loomis
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Loomis is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loomis
- Strickland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Strickland is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strickland
- Vernon City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Vernon City is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon City
- Beal City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Beal City is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beal City
- Winn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Winn is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winn
- Mecosta County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oil City, with the one closest to Oil City listed first.
- Millbrook
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Millbrook is located in Mecosta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millbrook
- Remus
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Barryton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Montcalm County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oil City, with the one closest to Oil City listed first.
- Vestaburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Vestaburg is located in Montcalm County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vestaburg
- Cedar Lake
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Lake is located in Montcalm County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
- Wyman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wyman is located in Montcalm County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
- Edmore
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Crystal
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- McBride
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Six Lakes
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Saginaw County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oil City, with the one closest to Oil City listed first.
- Iva
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Iva is located in Saginaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iva
- Merrill
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Hemlock
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lakefield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lakefield is located in Saginaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakefield
- Freeland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Dice
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Dice is located in Saginaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dice
- Frost
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Frost is located in Saginaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
- Nelson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Nelson is located in Saginaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
- Orr
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Orr is located in Saginaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
- Garfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Garfield is located in Saginaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
- Shields
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Shields is located in Saginaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shields
- Swan Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Swan Creek is located in Saginaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Creek
- Brant
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oil City, see our County-by-County Page for Oil City.
Cemeteries Near Oil City ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oil City.
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 Oil City - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oil City covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oil City, with the one closest to Oil City listed first.
- Kelly Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Greendale Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Chippewa Twp. Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Isabella County Poor Farm Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Warren Twp. Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- St. Vincent de Paul Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Salt River Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jasper Twp. Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Lee Twp. Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Geneva Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Geneva Community Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- River Lawn Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (190 more) ...
- Indian Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Mt. Pleasant Memorial Gardens
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Coe Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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.<2>
While we didn't find Oil City in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oil City.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oil City, with the one closest to Oil City listed first.
- Alembic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Alembic is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alembic
- Pleasant Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Valley is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
- Saint Elmo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Saint Elmo is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
- Shepherd
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Delwin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Delwin is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delwin
- Leaton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Leaton is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaton
- Jordan
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jordan is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
- Wise
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Wise is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wise
- Porter
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Porter is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- North Bradley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- North Bradley is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bradley
- Alamando
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Alamando is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamando
- Mount Pleasant
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Coleman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Crawford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Crawford is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Sanford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oil City. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oil City.
Newspapers Published in Oil City ...
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 152 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oil City.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oil City, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oil City.
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 Oil City:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Midland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bay County
- Clare County
- Gladwin County
- Gratiot County
- Isabella County
- Mecosta County
- Montcalm County
- Saginaw 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> | 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 Oil City, 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- Oil City) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |