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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 Onaway (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 Onaway. 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 Onaway ...

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.

Another variation: Onway.

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Onaway is located in Presque Isle 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 Presque Isle County: Alpena, Cheboygan & Montmorency.

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

  • Presque Isle County     (The home county of Onaway)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onaway, with the one closest to Onaway listed first.
    • Black Lake Bluffs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Lake Bluffs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Lake Bluffs
      • Black Lake Bluffs is located in Presque Isle County
    • Ocqueoc
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Millersburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millersburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
      • Millersburg is located in Presque Isle County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Millersburg <2>
    • Huron Beach
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Moltke
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Hawks
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Rogers City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rogers City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers City
      • Rogers City is located in Presque Isle County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,665 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogers City <2>
    • Calcite
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Calcite have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcite
      • Calcite is located in Presque Isle County
    • Hagensville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Metz
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Metz. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metz
      • Metz is located in Presque Isle County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Metz
      • From Onaway to Metz
    • Liske
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Posen
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Posen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Posen
      • Posen is located in Presque Isle County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Posen <2>
    • Polaski
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Alpena County
  • Cheboygan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onaway, with the one closest to Onaway listed first.
    • Tower
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tower have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower
      • Tower is located in Cheboygan County
    • Black Lake
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Fingerboard Corner
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Afton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Giauque Beach
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Long Point
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Silver Beach
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Topinabee
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Veery Point
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Indian River
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian River
      • Indian River is located in Cheboygan County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Indian River <2>
    • Wolverine
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolverine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolverine
      • Wolverine is located in Cheboygan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 234 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wolverine <2>
    • Mullett Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mullett Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullett Lake
      • Mullett Lake is located in Cheboygan County
    • Cheboygan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cheboygan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheboygan
      • Cheboygan is located in Cheboygan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,697 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cheboygan <2>
  • Emmet County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onaway, with the one closest to Onaway listed first.
    • Alanson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alanson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alanson
      • Alanson is located in Emmet County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 755 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alanson <2>
    • Brutus
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brutus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brutus
      • Brutus is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brutus <2>
    • Ponshewaing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Oden
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Pellston
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Mackinac County
  • Montmorency County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onaway, with the one closest to Onaway listed first.
    • Canada Creek Ranch
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Royston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Atlanta
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Big Rock ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Big Rock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
      • Big Rock is located in Montmorency County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Big Rock
      • From Onaway to Big Rock
    • Hillman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bigelow
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bigelow. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
      • Bigelow is located in Montmorency County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bigelow
      • From Onaway to Bigelow
    • Vienna Corners
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vienna Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna Corners
      • Vienna Corners is located in Montmorency County
  • Otsego County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onaway, with the one closest to Onaway listed first.
    • Green Timbers
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Hetherton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hetherton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hetherton
      • Hetherton is located in Otsego County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hetherton
      • From Onaway to Hetherton
    • Vanderbilt
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Johannesburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johannesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johannesburg
      • Johannesburg is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johannesburg <2>
    • Sparr
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Berryville ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berryville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryville
      • Berryville is located in Otsego County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Berryville
      • From Onaway to Berryville

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

Cemeteries Near Onaway ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Onaway.

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

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

  • Elmwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Elmwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Elmwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Paul's Catholic Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul's Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul's Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Allis Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Allis Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Allis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Forest Lawn Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Lawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Lawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Waverly Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Waverly Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Waverly Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • North Allis Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Allis Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Allis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Reuther's Graves
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reuther's Graves
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reuther's Graves have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • 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.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ocqueoc Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ocqueoc Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ocqueoc Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Black Lake State Forest Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Black Lake State Forest Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Black Lake State Forest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Walker Twp. Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Walker Twp. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Walker Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (71 more) ...
    • Grace Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grace Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grace Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Devereaux Grave
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Devereaux Grave
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Devereaux Grave have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Onaway had a population of 18 people in 1895 with no post office or railroad service. In 2020, Onaway had a population of 831 people.

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

  • Ocqueoc
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Manning
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manning have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manning
    • Manning is located in Cheboygan County
  • Wolverine
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolverine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolverine
    • Wolverine is located in Cheboygan County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 234 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wolverine <2>
  • Trowbridge
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trowbridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trowbridge
    • Trowbridge is located in Cheboygan County
  • Topinabee
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Indian River
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian River
    • Indian River is located in Cheboygan County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Indian River <2>
  • Rondo
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rondo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rondo
    • Rondo is located in Cheboygan County
  • Rogers City
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rogers City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers City
    • Rogers City is located in Presque Isle County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,665 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogers City <2>
  • Mullett Lake
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mullett Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullett Lake
    • Mullett Lake is located in Cheboygan County
  • Hagensville
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Cheboygan
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cheboygan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheboygan
    • Cheboygan is located in Cheboygan County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,697 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cheboygan <2>
  • Riggsville
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Wildwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wildwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
      • Wildwood is located in Cheboygan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wildwood
      • From Onaway to Wildwood
    • Hetherton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hetherton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hetherton
      • Hetherton is located in Otsego County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hetherton
      • From Onaway to Hetherton
    • Big Rock ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Big Rock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
      • Big Rock is located in Montmorency County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Big Rock
      • From Onaway to Big Rock

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Onaway ...

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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Onaway.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Onaway. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Onaway and those printed in the larger area surrounding Onaway.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<5> of Onaway.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Onaway:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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 Onaway, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Onaway) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Onaway. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.3577, Longitude: -84.2280    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025