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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 Palo (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 Palo. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Palo is located in Ionia 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 Ionia County: Barry, Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Kent & Montcalm.

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

  • Ionia County     (The home county of Palo)
  • Barry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Palo, with the one closest to Palo listed first.
    • Woodland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Freeport
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
      • Freeport is located in Barry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 503 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeport <2>
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Palo, with the one closest to Palo listed first.
    • Maple Rapids
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Rapids have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Rapids
      • Maple Rapids is located in Clinton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 671 people
    • Fowler
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Westphalia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Saint Johns
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Johns have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
      • Saint Johns is located in Clinton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,904 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Johns <2>
    • Eureka
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eureka have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
      • Eureka is located in Clinton County
    • Eagle
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Duplain
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • De Witt
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • East DeWitt
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Price
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Price. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price
      • Price is located in Clinton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Price
      • From Palo to Price
    • Shepardsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Elsie
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Eaton County
  • Gratiot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Palo, with the one closest to Palo listed first.
    • Middleton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Sumner
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Perrinton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Elm Hall
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elm Hall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Hall
      • Elm Hall is located in Gratiot County
    • Pompeii
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Riverdale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverdale
      • Riverdale is located in Gratiot County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riverdale <2>
    • Elwell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Ithaca
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ithaca have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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>
    • North Star
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Ashley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Forest Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Forest Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hill
      • Forest Hill is located in Gratiot County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Forest Hill
      • From Palo to Forest Hill
    • Saint Louis
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Isabella County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Palo, with the one closest to Palo listed first.
    • Strickland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Strickland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strickland
      • Strickland is located in Isabella County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Strickland
      • From Palo to Strickland
    • Blanchard
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blanchard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanchard
      • Blanchard is located in Isabella County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blanchard <2>
    • Winn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winn
      • Winn is located in Isabella County
    • Crawford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Coe
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coe
      • Coe is located in Isabella County
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Palo, with the one closest to Palo listed first.
    • Grattan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Lowell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Segwun
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Harvard
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Harvard. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard
      • Harvard is located in Kent County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Harvard
      • From Palo to Harvard
    • Parnell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Parnell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnell
      • Parnell is located in Kent County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Parnell
      • From Palo to Parnell
    • Cannonsburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Alto
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alto have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
      • Alto is located in Kent County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alto <2>
    • Sheffield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Ada
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ada have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
      • Ada is located in Kent County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ada <2>
    • Forest Hills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
      • Forest Hills is located in Kent County
    • Rockford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockford
      • Rockford is located in Kent County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,395 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockford <2>
    • Cedar Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
      • Cedar Springs is located in Kent County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,743 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar Springs <2>
    • Edgerton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Edgerton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
      • Edgerton is located in Kent County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Edgerton
      • From Palo to Edgerton
  • Mecosta County
    • Millbrook
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millbrook
      • Millbrook is located in Mecosta County
  • Montcalm County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Palo, with the one closest to Palo listed first.
    • Vickeryville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Fenwick
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Butternut
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Carson City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carson City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson City
      • Carson City is located in Montcalm County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,105 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carson City <2>
    • Amsden
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Sheridan
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Crystal
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Eureka Place
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eureka Place. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Place
      • Eureka Place is located in Montcalm County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Eureka Place
      • From Palo to Eureka Place
    • Sidney
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sidney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
      • Sidney is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sidney <2>
    • Stanton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stanton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanton
      • Stanton is located in Montcalm County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,420 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stanton <2>
    • Greenville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
      • Greenville is located in Montcalm County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,386 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenville <2>
    • McBride
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McBride have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBride
      • McBride is located in Montcalm County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McBride <2>
    • Gowen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gowen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowen
      • Gowen is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gowen <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Palo ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Palo.

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

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

  • Palo Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Palo Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Palo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sunny Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunny Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunny Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Snows Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Snows Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Snows Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dalton Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dalton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dalton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodard Lake Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodard Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodard Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • North Plains Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Plains Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Plains Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ionia County Poor Farm Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ionia County Poor Farm Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ionia County Poor Farm Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodward Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodward Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodward Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bloomer Twp. Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Vickeryville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vickeryville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vickeryville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Clear Lake Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clear Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clear Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • West Side Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Side Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Side Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (244 more) ...
    • Greenop Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenop Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenop Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Higbee Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Higbee Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Higbee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. Johns Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Palo had a population of 300 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Palo ...

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 231 newspapers that have been published in the area around Palo.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Palo. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Palo and those printed in the larger area surrounding Palo.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Palo.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Palo:

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

The official website for Ionia County: www.ioniacounty.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 from Point A (ie- Palo) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Palo. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.1125, Longitude: -84.9854    
<5>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.
<6>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 Palo, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025