RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Michigan >> Ontonagon County >> Ontonagon >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Michigan

The Commemorative Quarter for Michigan





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 Ontonagon (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 Ontonagon. 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 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.

Ontonagon is located in Ontonagon County and is the County Seat.

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 Ontonagon County: Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Cook (MN) & Ashland (WI).

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

  • Ontonagon County     (The home county of Ontonagon)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ontonagon, with the one closest to Ontonagon listed first.
    • Firesteel
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Green
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Green. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green
      • Green is located in Ontonagon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Green
      • From Ontonagon to Green
    • Greenland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Rockland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
      • Rockland is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockland <2>
    • Silver City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
      • Silver City is located in Ontonagon County
    • Mass City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mass City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mass City
      • Mass City is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mass City <2>
    • White Pine
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Wainola
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wainola. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wainola
      • Wainola is located in Ontonagon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wainola
      • From Ontonagon to Wainola
    • Nonesuch
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nonesuch. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nonesuch
      • Nonesuch is located in Ontonagon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Nonesuch
      • From Ontonagon to Nonesuch
    • Wasas
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wasas. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasas
      • Wasas is located in Ontonagon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wasas
      • From Ontonagon to Wasas
    • Rousseau
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Bergland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bergland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bergland
      • Bergland is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bergland <2>
  • Houghton County

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

Cemeteries Near Ontonagon ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ontonagon.

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

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

  • Riverside Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles 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.
  • Holy Family Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Family Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Indian Burial Grounds
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Indian Burial Grounds
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Indian Burial Grounds have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodawn Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Irish Hollow Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Irish Hollow Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Irish Hollow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Methodist Rose Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Methodist Rose Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Methodist Rose Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Methodist Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Methodist Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Methodist Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Norwich Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Norwich Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Norwich Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Woodland Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodland Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Rousseau Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rousseau Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rousseau Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Forest Lawn Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • 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.<3> 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 Ontonagon had a population of 1,250 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Ontonagon had a population of 1,234 people.

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

  • Rockland
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
    • Rockland is located in Ontonagon County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockland <2>
  • Greenland
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Pori
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pori have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pori
    • Pori is located in Houghton County
  • Matchwood
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Matchwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matchwood
    • Matchwood is located in Ontonagon County
  • Ewen
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ewen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewen
    • Ewen is located in Ontonagon County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ewen <2>
  • Lake Gogebic
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Bruce Crossing
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
  • Paynesville
    (25 miles [40.2 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 Ontonagon. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ontonagon.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ontonagon ...

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 11 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ontonagon.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ontonagon. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ontonagon and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ontonagon.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 23 miles [37 km]<5> of Ontonagon.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Ontonagon:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Ontonagon, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ontonagon) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ontonagon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.8710, Longitude: -89.3138    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025