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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 Paxton (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 Paxton. 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 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.

Paxton is located in Alpena 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 Alpena County: Alcona, Montmorency, Oscoda & Presque Isle.

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

  • Alpena County     (The home county of Paxton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Paxton, with the one closest to Paxton listed first.
    • McHarg
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • McHarg is located in Alpena County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McHarg
    • Herron
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Herron is located in Alpena County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herron
    • Lachine
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Flanders
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Flanders is located in Alpena County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flanders
    • Alpena Junction
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Alpena Junction is located in Alpena County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpena Junction
    • Cathro
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Cathro is located in Alpena County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cathro
    • Long Rapids
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Long Rapids is located in Alpena County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Rapids
    • Alpena
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Hubbard Lake
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Ossineke
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Alcona County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Paxton, with the one closest to Paxton listed first.
    • Spruce
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hubbard Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Hubbard Lake is located in Alcona County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbard Lake
    • Lost Lake Woods
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Lost Lake Woods is located in Alcona County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Lake Woods
    • Black River
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Barton City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Curran
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Alcona
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Alcona is located in Alcona County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcona
    • Lincoln
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Montmorency County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Paxton, with the one closest to Paxton listed first.
    • Hillman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Royston
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Royston is located in Montmorency County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royston
    • Atlanta
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Big Rock ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Big Rock is located in Montmorency County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
    • Canada Creek Ranch
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Canada Creek Ranch is located in Montmorency County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Creek Ranch
  • Presque Isle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Paxton, with the one closest to Paxton listed first.
    • Leroy
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Leroy is located in Presque Isle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leroy
    • Polaski
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Polaski is located in Presque Isle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polaski
    • Posen
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Posen is located in Presque Isle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Posen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Posen <1>
    • Bell ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Bell is located in Presque Isle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
    • Presque Isle
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Metz
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Metz is located in Presque Isle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metz
    • Liske
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Liske is located in Presque Isle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liske
    • Hagensville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Hagensville is located in Presque Isle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagensville
    • Hawks
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Hawks is located in Presque Isle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawks
    • Calcite
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Calcite is located in Presque Isle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcite
    • Rogers City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Moltke
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Moltke is located in Presque Isle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moltke

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

Cemeteries Near Paxton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Paxton.

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

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

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

  • Herron St. Rose's Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Wilson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Pilgrims Rest Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Greely Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greely Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Greely Cemetery is located outside and to the south of Flanders.
    • The Greely Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Green Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2220618 <2>
  • St. Matthew Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Cross Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Holy Cross Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Alpena.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #742 <2>
  • Grace Lutheran Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Hebrew Benevolent Society Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Evergreen Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Alpena.
    • The Evergreen Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Alpena Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #474 <2>
  • Long Rapids Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (48 more) ...
    • Cathro Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Spratt Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Salem Lutheran Church Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)

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 Paxton in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Paxton.

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

  • Flanders
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Flanders is located in Alpena County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flanders
  • Long Rapids
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Long Rapids is located in Alpena County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Rapids
  • Alpena
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Bolton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Bolton is located in Alpena County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton
  • Hubbard Lake
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Ossineke
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Posen
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Posen is located in Presque Isle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Posen
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Posen <1>
  • Hillman
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Bell ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bell is located in Presque Isle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
  • Presque Isle
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Hagensville
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Hagensville is located in Presque Isle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagensville
  • Black River
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Curran
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Alcona
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Alcona is located in Alcona County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcona
    • Rogers City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Paxton ...

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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Paxton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Paxton, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Paxton.

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 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 Paxton:

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 Paxton, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Paxton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.