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 Ottawa Center (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 Ottawa Center. 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 Ottawa Center ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Ottawa Center: Ottawa Ctr. (or less commonly used: Ottawa Cen., Ottawa Cent. or Ottawa Cntr.)
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 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.
Ottawa Center is located in Ottawa 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 Ottawa County: Allegan, Kent & Muskegon.
Below are the counties that are near Ottawa Center. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ottawa Center:
- Ottawa County (The home county of Ottawa Center)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ottawa Center, with the one closest to Ottawa Center listed first.
- Eastmanville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Eastmanville is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastmanville
- Nunica
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Robinson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Robinson is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
- Coopersville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Rusk
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Rusk is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rusk
- Allendale
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Lamont
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Lamont is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
- Agnew
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Agnew is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
- Spring Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Bauer
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bauer is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauer
- West Olive
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Conklin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ferrysburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Allegan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ottawa Center, with the one closest to Ottawa Center listed first.
- Graafschap
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Graafschap is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graafschap
- Boyd
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Boyd is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
- Fillmore
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Fillmore is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
- Burnips
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Burnips is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnips
- Former name for Burnips:
- Burnip's Corners
- New Salem
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- New Salem is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- Hamilton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Diamond Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Diamond Springs is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Springs
- Singapore ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Singapore is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Singapore
- Dorr
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Saugatuck
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Moline
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Moline is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moline
- Douglas
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Hilliards
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hilliards is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilliards
- Kent County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ottawa Center, with the one closest to Ottawa Center listed first.
- Kinney
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Kinney is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinney
- Walker
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Lisbon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lisbon is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
- Grandville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Beverly
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Beverly is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
- Burlingame Heights
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Burlingame Heights is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame Heights
- Comstock Park
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Galewood
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Galewood is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galewood
- Grand Rapids
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Casnovia
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Sparta
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Burlingame
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Burlingame is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
- Urbandale
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Urbandale is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbandale
- Muskegon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ottawa Center, with the one closest to Ottawa Center listed first.
- Fruitport
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sullivan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Sullivan is located in Muskegon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
- Ravenna
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Morgan Corners
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Morgan Corners is located in Muskegon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Corners
- Slocum
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Slocum is located in Muskegon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slocum
- Norton Shores
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wolf Lake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Wolf Lake is located in Muskegon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
- Canada Corners
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Canada Corners is located in Muskegon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Corners
- Muskegon Heights
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Roosevelt Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Muskegon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- North Muskegon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bailey
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Newaygo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ottawa Center, with the one closest to Ottawa Center listed first.
- Bridgeton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Bridgeton is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Ashland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ashland is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Grant
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Sitka
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Sitka is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
- Sun
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sun is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun
- Brookside
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Brookside is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
- Bishop
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Bishop is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Reeman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Reeman is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeman
- Newaygo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Fremont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Fremont is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,102 people
- Former name for Fremont:
- Fremont Center
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fremont <1>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ottawa Center, see our County-by-County Page for Ottawa Center.
Cemeteries Near Ottawa Center ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ottawa Center.
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 Ottawa Center - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ottawa Center covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ottawa Center, with the one closest to Ottawa Center listed first.
- Ottawa Center Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Robinson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Eastmanville Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- St. Michael's Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Nunica Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rusk Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Allendale Twp. Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Coopersville - Polkton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopersville - Polkton Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Coopersville - Polkton Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Coopersville.
- The Coopersville - Polkton Cemetery has also been known as:
- Coopersville Cemetery
- Polkton Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #312 <2>
- Maplewood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Olive Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Elmwood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Maple Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Continue List (214 more) ...
- West Olive Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Lake Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Ridge Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Ottawa Center in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ottawa Center.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ottawa Center, with the one closest to Ottawa Center listed first.
- Robinson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Robinson is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
- Eastmanville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Eastmanville is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastmanville
- Nunica
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dennison
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Dennison is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennison
- Allendale
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Coopersville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Pearline
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pearline is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearline
- Lamont
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Lamont is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
- Agnew
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Agnew is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
- Olive Center
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Olive Center is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olive Center
- Spring Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- West Olive
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Borculo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Borculo is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borculo
- Bauer
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bauer is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauer
- Fruitport
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ottawa Center. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ottawa Center.
Newspapers Published in Ottawa Center ...
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 170 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ottawa Center.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ottawa Center, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ottawa Center.
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 either 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 Ottawa Center:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Ottawa County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegan County
- Kent County
- Muskegon County
- Newaygo 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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Ottawa Center, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 from Point A (ie- Ottawa Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |