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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 Orr (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 Orr. 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 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.

Orr is located in Saginaw 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 Saginaw County: Bay, Clinton, Genesee, Gratiot, Midland, Shiawassee & Tuscola.

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

  • Saginaw County     (The home county of Orr)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orr, with the one closest to Orr listed first.
    • Garfield
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Garfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
      • Garfield is located in Saginaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Garfield
      • From Orr to Garfield
    • Swan Creek
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Hemlock
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Nelson
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Frost
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Frost. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
      • Frost is located in Saginaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Frost
      • From Orr to Frost
    • Saint Charles
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Charles have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Charles
      • Saint Charles is located in Saginaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,886 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Charles <2>
    • Paines
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Paines. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paines
      • Paines is located in Saginaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Paines
      • From Orr to Paines
    • Dice
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Shields
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shields. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shields
      • Shields is located in Saginaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Shields
      • From Orr to Shields
    • Iva
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Brant
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brant have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brant
      • Brant is located in Saginaw County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brant <2>
    • Lakefield
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Bay County
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orr, with the one closest to Orr listed first.
    • Elsie
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Eureka
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eureka have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
      • Eureka is located in Clinton County
    • Ovid
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ovid have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ovid
      • Ovid is located in Clinton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,607 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ovid <2>
    • Duplain
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Shepardsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Genesee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orr, with the one closest to Orr listed first.
    • Montrose
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Clio
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clio. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clio
      • Clio is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,480 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clio <2>
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clio
      • From Orr to Clio
    • Farrandville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Flushing
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flushing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flushing
      • Flushing is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,840 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Flushing <2>
    • Mount Morris
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Gratiot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orr, with the one closest to Orr listed first.
    • Wheeler
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheeler have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
      • Wheeler is located in Gratiot County
    • North Wheeler
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Wheeler have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wheeler
      • North Wheeler is located in Gratiot County
    • Edgewood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Edgewood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
      • Edgewood is located in Gratiot County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Edgewood
      • From Orr to Edgewood
    • Sickles
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Breckenridge
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Breckenridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breckenridge
      • Breckenridge is located in Gratiot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,265 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Breckenridge <2>
    • Ashley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • North Star
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Bannister
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Saint Louis
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Ithaca
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ithaca have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ithaca
      • Ithaca is located in Gratiot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,744 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ithaca <2>
    • Alma
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alma have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
      • Alma is located in Gratiot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,807 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alma <2>
    • Pompeii
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Isabella County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orr, with the one closest to Orr listed first.
    • Coe
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coe have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coe
      • Coe is located in Isabella County
    • Shepherd
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Alembic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Midland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orr, with the one closest to Orr listed first.
    • Ryan
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ryan have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan
      • Ryan is located in Midland County
    • Redstone
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Midland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Porter
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Averill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Averill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Averill
      • Averill is located in Midland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Averill
      • From Orr to Averill
    • Sanford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Oil City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oil City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
      • Oil City is located in Midland County
    • Hope
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
      • Hope is located in Midland County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hope <2>
    • North Bradley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Alamando
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alamando. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamando
      • Alamando is located in Midland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Alamando
      • From Orr to Alamando
    • Edenville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edenville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edenville
      • Edenville is located in Midland County
  • Shiawassee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orr, with the one closest to Orr listed first.
    • Henderson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Henderson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson
      • Henderson is located in Shiawassee County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henderson <2>
    • New Lothrop
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Lothrop have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lothrop
      • New Lothrop is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Lothrop <2>
    • Smith Crossing
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Juddville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Burton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Five Points
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Owosso
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Corunna
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corunna have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
      • Corunna is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,320 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Corunna <2>
    • Middletown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middletown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
      • Middletown is located in Shiawassee County
    • Lennon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lennon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lennon
      • Lennon is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 479 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lennon <2>
  • Tuscola County

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

Cemeteries Near Orr ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Orr.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Orr, with the one closest to Orr 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>

While we didn't find Orr in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Orr.

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

  • Garfield
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Garfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
    • Garfield is located in Saginaw County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Garfield
    • From Orr to Garfield
  • Swan Creek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Nelson
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Saint Charles
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Charles have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Charles
    • Saint Charles is located in Saginaw County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,886 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Charles <2>
  • Frost
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Frost. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
    • Frost is located in Saginaw County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Frost
    • From Orr to Frost
  • Paines
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Paines. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paines
    • Paines is located in Saginaw County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Paines
    • From Orr to Paines
  • Brant
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brant have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brant
    • Brant is located in Saginaw County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brant <2>
  • Merrill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Groveton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Groveton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groveton
    • Groveton is located in Saginaw County
  • Galloway
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Galloway have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galloway
    • Galloway is located in Saginaw County
  • Freeland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeland
    • Freeland is located in Saginaw County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeland <2>
  • Saginaw
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Luce ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Luce. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luce
      • Luce is located in Saginaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Luce
      • From Orr to Luce
    • Rathbone
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rathbone have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rathbone
      • Rathbone is located in Gratiot County
    • Chesaning
      (13 miles [20.9 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 Orr. See our List of 1890's Communities around Orr.

Newspapers Published in Orr ...

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 60 newspapers that have been published in the area around Orr.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Orr, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Orr.

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 helpful 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 Orr:

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

The official website for Saginaw County: www.saginawcounty.com/

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>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 Orr, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Orr) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Orr. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.3799, Longitude: -84.1704       In this case, the coordinates for Orr have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025