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 Paint Creek (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 Paint Creek. 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 Paint Creek ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Paint Creek: Paint Crk. (or less commonly used: Paint Ck. or Paint Cr.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Paint Creek. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Paint Creek.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.
Paint Creek is located in Washtenaw 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 Washtenaw County: Jackson, Lenawee, Livingston, Monroe, Oakland & Wayne.
Below are the counties that are near Paint Creek. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Paint Creek:
- Washtenaw County (The home county of Paint Creek)
- The following are listed by their distance from Paint Creek, with the one closest to Paint Creek listed first.
- Willis
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Whittaker
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Whittaker is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittaker
- Stony Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Stony Creek is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
- Rawsonville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Rawsonville is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawsonville
- Ypsilanti
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Pittsfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pittsfield is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsfield
- Pittsfield has also been known as:
- Pittsfield Village
- Saline
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Dixboro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Dixboro is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixboro
- Ann Arbor
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Emery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Emery is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emery
- Barton Hills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Barton Hills is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Delhi Mills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Delhi Mills is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi Mills
- Bridgewater
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Paint Creek, with the one closest to Paint Creek listed first.
- Fishville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Fishville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishville
- Norvell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Norvell is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norvell
- Lenawee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Paint Creek, with the one closest to Paint Creek listed first.
- Macon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Macon is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
- Britton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ridgeway
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Ridgeway is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeway
- Clinton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Clinton is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,287 people
- Deerfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Tecumseh
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Holloway
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Holloway is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holloway
- Wellsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Wellsville is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellsville
- Blissfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Tipton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Palmyra
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Palmyra is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
- Riga
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Riga is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riga
- Adrian
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Livingston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Paint Creek, with the one closest to Paint Creek listed first.
- Whitmore Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Green Oak
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Green Oak is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Oak
- Hamburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Lakeland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Pettysville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pettysville is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettysville
- Brighton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Pinckney
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hell is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hell
- Hell has also been known as:
- Hi Land Lake
- Highland Lake
- Hiland Lake
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hell <1>
- Chalkerville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Chalkerville is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkerville
- Chalkerville has also been known as:
- Chalkers Landing
- Chubb's Corners ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Chubb's Corners is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chubb's Corners
- Kaiserville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kaiserville is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaiserville
- Anderson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Anderson is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Unadilla
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Unadilla is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unadilla
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Paint Creek, with the one closest to Paint Creek listed first.
- Oakville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Oakville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Milan
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Scofield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Scofield is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scofield
- Azalia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Azalia is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Azalia
- Maybee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Carleton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Grafton ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Grafton is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grafton
- Cone
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cone is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cone
- Dundee
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Grape
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Grape is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grape
- Flat Rock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Diann
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Diann is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diann
- Steiner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Steiner is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steiner
- Oakland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Paint Creek, with the one closest to Paint Creek listed first.
- Northville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- South Lyon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Novi
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Farmington Acres
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Farmington Acres is located in Oakland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmington Acres
- Clarenceville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Clarenceville is located in Oakland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarenceville
- Farmington
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- New Hudson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Quakertown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Quakertown is located in Oakland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quakertown
- Farmington Hills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Wixom
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Walled Lake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- North Farmington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- North Farmington is located in Oakland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Farmington
- Wood Creek Farms
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wood Creek Farms is located in Oakland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Creek Farms
- Wayne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Paint Creek, with the one closest to Paint Creek listed first.
- Belleville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- New Boston
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Willow
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Willow is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow
- Sheldon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sheldon is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheldon
- Canton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Romulus
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wayne
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Westland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Plymouth
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Eloise
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Eloise is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eloise
- Taylor
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Inkster
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Garden City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Paint Creek, see our County-by-County Page for Paint Creek.
Cemeteries Near Paint Creek ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Paint Creek.
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 Paint Creek - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Paint Creek covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Paint Creek, with the one closest to Paint Creek listed first.
- Alban Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Childs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Comstock Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Union - Udell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Stoney Creek FWB Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Stony Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Metropolitan Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- York Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- County Line Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Pool Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (383 more) ...
- Hillside Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Denton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Crittenden Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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.<2>
While we didn't find Paint Creek in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Paint Creek.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Paint Creek, with the one closest to Paint Creek listed first.
- Willis
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Whittaker
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Whittaker is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittaker
- Stony Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Stony Creek is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
- West Sumpter
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- West Sumpter is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Sumpter
- Rawsonville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Rawsonville is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawsonville
- Oakville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Oakville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Belleville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Ypsilanti
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Martinsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Martinsville is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsville
- Milan
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Denton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Denton is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denton
- Geddes
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Geddes is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geddes
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Pittsfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pittsfield is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsfield
- Pittsfield has also been known as:
- Pittsfield Village
- London
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- London is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for London
- New Boston
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Paint Creek. See our List of 1890's Communities around Paint Creek.
Newspapers Published in Paint Creek ...
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 255 newspapers that have been published in the area around Paint Creek.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Paint Creek, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Paint Creek.
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 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 Paint Creek:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Washtenaw County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Jackson County
- Lenawee County
- Livingston County
- Monroe County
- Oakland County
- Wayne 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> | 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 Paint Creek, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Paint Creek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |