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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 Pavilion (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 Pavilion. 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.

Pavilion is located in Kalamazoo 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 Kalamazoo County: Allegan, Barry, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Saint Joseph & Van Buren.

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

  • Kalamazoo County     (The home county of Pavilion)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pavilion, with the one closest to Pavilion listed first.
    • Scotts
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Pavillion Center
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Pavillion Center is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavillion Center
    • Vicksburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Fulton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Fulton is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
    • Portage
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Climax
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Climax is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climax
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
    • Milwood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Milwood is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milwood
    • Comstock
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Comstock is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
    • Galesburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Schoolcraft
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Eastwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Eastwood is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastwood
    • Kalamazoo
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Allegan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pavilion, with the one closest to Pavilion listed first.
    • Plainwell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Hooper
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Hooper is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooper
    • Neeley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Neeley is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neeley
    • Otsego
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Martin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Watson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Watson is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
    • Shelbyville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Barry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pavilion, with the one closest to Pavilion listed first.
    • Hickory Corners
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Doster
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Doster is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doster
    • Banfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Banfield is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banfield
    • Delton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Prairieville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Prairieville is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
    • Cedar Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Cedar Creek is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek
    • Cloverdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Cloverdale is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
    • Dowling
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Dowling is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowling
  • Branch County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pavilion, with the one closest to Pavilion listed first.
    • Sherwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Sherwood is located in Branch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
    • Union City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Matteson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Matteson is located in Branch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matteson
    • Hodunk
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Hodunk is located in Branch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodunk
    • Bronson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Girard
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Girard is located in Branch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard
    • Batavia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Batavia is located in Branch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
    • Coldwater
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Hatmaker
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Hatmaker is located in Branch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
    • Trailtree Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Trailtree Village is located in Branch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailtree Village
    • Gilead
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Gilead is located in Branch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pavilion, with the one closest to Pavilion listed first.
    • West Leroy
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • West Leroy is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leroy
    • Fort Custer
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Fort Custer is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Custer
      • Former name for Fort Custer:
      • Camp Custer
    • East Leroy
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • East Leroy is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Leroy
    • Joppa
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Joppa is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa
    • Sonoma
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Sonoma is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonoma
    • Athens
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Level Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Level Park is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Level Park
    • Springfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Oak Park
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Oak Park is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park
    • Battle Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Beadle Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Beadle Lake is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beadle Lake
    • Verona Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Verona Park is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona Park
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pavilion, with the one closest to Pavilion listed first.
    • Marcellus
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Corey
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Corey is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corey
    • Jones
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Wakelee
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Wakelee is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakelee
    • Penn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Penn is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn
    • Vandalia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Vandalia is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
  • Eaton County
    • Bellevue
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Saint Joseph County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pavilion, with the one closest to Pavilion listed first.
    • Mendon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Mendon is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 848 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mendon <1>
    • Parkville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Parkville is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkville
    • Factoryville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Factoryville is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Factoryville
    • Leonidas
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairfax
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Fairfax is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax
    • Wasepi
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Wasepi is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasepi
    • Colon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Colon is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,155 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colon <1>
    • Chamberlain
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Chamberlain is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamberlain
    • Centreville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Centreville is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,400 people
    • Nottawa
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Three Rivers
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Findley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Findley is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Findley
  • Van Buren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pavilion, with the one closest to Pavilion listed first.
    • Mattawan
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Almena
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Almena is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
    • Lawton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Lawton is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,796 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lawton <1>
    • North Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • North Lake is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lake
    • Kendall
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Kendall is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
    • Paw Paw
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Gobles
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Decatur
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Glendale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Glendale is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
    • Lawrence
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • LaGrange County (IN)
    • Scott
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Scott is located in LaGrange County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott

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

Cemeteries Near Pavilion ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pavilion.

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

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

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

  • McKain Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Boughten Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Wolcott Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Cook Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Jenkinson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Harrison Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Gilson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Schoolcraft Twp. Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Wheaton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Gourdneck Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Hassic Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (287 more) ...
    • South Fulton Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Northside Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Spencer Mills Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Pavilion had a population of 150 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Scotts
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Vicksburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Fulton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Fulton is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
  • Portage
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Climax
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Climax is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climax
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
  • Comstock
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Comstock is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
  • Galesburg
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Schoolcraft
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • West Leroy
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • West Leroy is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leroy
  • Pine Creek
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Pine Creek is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Creek
  • Kalamazoo
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Parkville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Parkville is located in Saint Joseph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkville
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Mendon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Mendon is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 848 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mendon <1>
    • Leonidas
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Factoryville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Factoryville is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Factoryville

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

Newspapers Published in Pavilion ...

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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pavilion.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pavilion, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pavilion.

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 Pavilion:

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 Pavilion, 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- Pavilion) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.