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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 Packard (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 Packard. 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 doctors 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.

Packard is primarily located in Eaton County. A portion of Packard extends into Ingham 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 Eaton County: Barry, Calhoun, Clinton, Ingham, Ionia & Jackson.

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

  • Eaton County     (The home county of Packard)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
    • Millett
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Millett is located in Eaton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millett
      • Millett has also been known as:
      • Milletts
    • Dimondale
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Waverly
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Waverly is located in Eaton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
    • West Windsor
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • West Windsor is located in Eaton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Windsor
    • Kingsland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Kingsland is located in Eaton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsland
    • Potterville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Grand Ledge
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Petrieville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Petrieville is located in Eaton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petrieville
    • Eaton Rapids
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Needmore
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Needmore is located in Eaton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
    • Charlotte
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Gresham
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Gresham is located in Eaton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gresham
    • Mulliken
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Barry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
    • Nashville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Woodland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Woodland is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 449 people
    • Maple Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Maple Grove is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
    • Morgan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Morgan is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
    • Duck Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Duck Lake is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Lake
    • Rice Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Rice Creek is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Creek
    • Marengo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Marengo is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
    • Clinton Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Clinton Village is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton Village
    • Gunnisonville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Gunnisonville is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunnisonville
    • De Witt
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • East DeWitt
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • East DeWitt is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East DeWitt
    • Bath
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Eagle
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Price
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Price is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price
    • Westphalia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Johns
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Fowler
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Shepardsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Shepardsville is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shepardsville
    • Ovid
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Ovid is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ovid
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,607 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ovid <1>
    • Duplain
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Duplain is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duplain
  • Ingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
    • Edgemont Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Edgemont Park is located in Ingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgemont Park
    • Lansing
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Holt
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • North Lansing
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • North Lansing is located in Ingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lansing
    • East Lansing
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Okemos
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Mason
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Haslett
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Meridian
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Meridian is located in Ingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
    • Pollok ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Pollok is located in Ingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pollok
      • Pollok has also been known as:
      • Pollock
    • Williamston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Onondaga
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • North Leslie
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • North Leslie is located in Ingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Leslie
  • Ionia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
    • Portland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Pewamo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • West Sebewa
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • West Sebewa is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Sebewa
    • Lyons
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Muir
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake Odessa
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Matherton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Matherton is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matherton
    • Hubbardston
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • South Ionia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • South Ionia is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ionia
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
    • Berryville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Berryville is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryville
    • Rives Junction
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Rives Junction is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rives Junction
    • Springport
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Tompkins
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Tompkins is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tompkins
    • Pleasant Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Devereaux
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Devereaux is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devereaux
    • Munith
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Parma
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Sandstone
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Sandstone is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandstone
    • Woodville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Woodville is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
  • Livingston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
    • Fowlerville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Parkers Corners
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Parkers Corners is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkers Corners
    • Plainfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Plainfield is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
    • Gregory
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Shiawassee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard listed first.
    • Shaftsburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Shaftsburg is located in Shiawassee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaftsburg
    • Laingsburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Perry
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Perry is located in Shiawassee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,075 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Perry <1>
    • Morrice
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Nicholson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Nicholson is located in Shiawassee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholson
    • Burton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Burton is located in Shiawassee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burton
    • Five Points
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Five Points is located in Shiawassee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
    • Bancroft
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Owosso
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Owosso is located in Shiawassee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owosso
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,338 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Owosso <1>
    • Smith Crossing
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Smith Crossing is located in Shiawassee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Crossing

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

Cemeteries Near Packard ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Packard.

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 Packard - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Packard covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Packard, with the one closest to Packard 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Packard had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Millett
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Millett is located in Eaton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millett
    • Millett has also been known as:
    • Milletts
  • Dimondale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Lansing
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • West Windsor
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • West Windsor is located in Eaton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Windsor
  • Holt
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • North Lansing
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • North Lansing is located in Ingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lansing
  • Potterville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Kingsland
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Kingsland is located in Eaton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsland
  • North Aurelius
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • North Aurelius is located in Ingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Aurelius
  • Grand Ledge
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Okemos
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Gunnisonville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Gunnisonville is located in Clinton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunnisonville
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Mason
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Aurelius
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Aurelius is located in Ingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurelius
    • Wacousta
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Wacousta is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wacousta

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

Newspapers Published in Packard ...

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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Packard.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Packard, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Packard.

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 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 Packard:

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 Packard, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Packard) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.