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 Pearl Beach (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 Pearl Beach. 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 Pearl Beach ...
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 Pearl Beach: Pearl Bch.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Pearl Beach. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Pearl Beach.
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 and doctors 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.
Pearl Beach is located in Branch 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 Branch County: LaGrange (IN), Steuben (IN), Calhoun, Hillsdale & Saint Joseph.
Below are the counties that are near Pearl Beach. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pearl Beach:
- Branch County (The home county of Pearl Beach)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pearl Beach, with the one closest to Pearl Beach listed first.
- Canada Shores
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Canada Shores is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Shores
- Fisher
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Fisher is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
- Ray
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hatmaker
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hatmaker is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- Coldwater
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Trailtree Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Trailtree Village is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailtree Village
- Batavia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Batavia is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Gilead
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Gilead is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Quincy
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bronson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Hodunk
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Hodunk is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodunk
- Matteson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Matteson is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matteson
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pearl Beach, with the one closest to Pearl Beach listed first.
- Tekonsha
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Burlington
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Burlington is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 277 people
- Athens
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Homer
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- East Leroy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- East Leroy is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Leroy
- Joppa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Joppa is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa
- Marshall
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Sonoma
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sonoma is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonoma
- Hillsdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pearl Beach, with the one closest to Pearl Beach listed first.
- Montgomery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Montgomery is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
- Camden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Reading
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Allen
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Frontier
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Frontier is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frontier
- Hillsdale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Steamburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Steamburg is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steamburg
- Jonesville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Litchfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Osseo
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Ransom
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Ransom is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ransom
- Mosherville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Mosherville is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosherville
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pearl Beach, with the one closest to Pearl Beach listed first.
- Hanover
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Concord
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Kalamazoo County
- Fulton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fulton is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Saint Joseph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pearl Beach, with the one closest to Pearl Beach listed first.
- Burr Oak
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Fawn River
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Fawn River is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn River
- Colon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- 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>
- Findley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Findley is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Findley
- Fairfax
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fairfax is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax
- Factoryville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Factoryville is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Factoryville
- Sturgis
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Leonidas
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Nottawa
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Wasepi
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Wasepi is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasepi
- Mendon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Klingers
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Klingers is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klingers
- DeKalb County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pearl Beach, with the one closest to Pearl Beach listed first.
- Ashley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Fairfield Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Fairfield Center is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Center
- Butler
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Waterloo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Corunna
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Corunna is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Moore
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Moore is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore
- LaGrange County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pearl Beach, with the one closest to Pearl Beach listed first.
- Greenfield Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Greenfield Mills is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- Mongo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Brighton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Brighton is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Brushy Prairie
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Brushy Prairie is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Prairie
- Stroh
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Stroh is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroh
- Plato
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Plato is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato
- Gravel Beach
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gravel Beach is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Beach
- Howe
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- South Milford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- South Milford is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Milford
- LaGrange
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Valentine
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- Seyberts
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Seyberts is located in LaGrange County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyberts
- Noble County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pearl Beach, with the one closest to Pearl Beach listed first.
- Wakeville Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wakeville Village is located in Noble County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakeville Village
- Kendallville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rome City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Steuben County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pearl Beach, with the one closest to Pearl Beach listed first.
- Jamestown
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jamestown is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Fremont
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ray
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ray is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Clear Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Clear Lake is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Orland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Angola
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- York
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- York is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Pleasant Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Russels Point
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Russels Point is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russels Point
- Alvarado
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Alvarado is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- Hamilton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Hamilton is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,595 people
- Hudson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Williams County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pearl Beach, with the one closest to Pearl Beach listed first.
- Northwest
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Northwest is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwest
- Columbia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Columbia is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia
- Cooney
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cooney is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooney
- Ainger
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ainger is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ainger
- Edon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Edon is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 807 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edon <1>
- Jim Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Jim Town is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jim Town
- Blakeslee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pioneer
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Denmark ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Denmark is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Montpelier
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Holiday City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Holiday City is located in Williams County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
- Edgerton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pearl Beach, see our County-by-County Page for Pearl Beach.
Cemeteries Near Pearl Beach ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pearl Beach.
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 Pearl Beach - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pearl Beach covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pearl Beach, with the one closest to Pearl Beach listed first.
- Sorter Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Lawrence Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Knauss Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Brown Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Lester Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Munday Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wilson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Amish Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Ammerman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Card Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- East Gilead Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Hultz Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (319 more) ...
- California Corners Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Lockwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Jamestown Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
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 Pearl Beach in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pearl Beach.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pearl Beach, with the one closest to Pearl Beach listed first.
- Bethel
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bethel is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- East Gilead
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- East Gilead is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gilead
- California
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- California is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California
- Algansee
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Algansee is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algansee
- Ray
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ray is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Hatmaker
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hatmaker is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
- Gilead
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Gilead is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Nevada Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Nevada Mills is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevada Mills
- Batavia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Batavia is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Coldwater
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Clear Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Clear Lake is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Montgomery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Montgomery is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Quincy
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Inverness
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Inverness is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Orland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pearl Beach. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pearl Beach.
Newspapers Published in Pearl Beach ...
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 137 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pearl Beach.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pearl Beach, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pearl Beach.
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 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 Pearl Beach:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Branch County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Hillsdale County
- Jackson County
- Kalamazoo County
- Saint Joseph County
- DeKalb County
- LaGrange County
- Noble County
- Steuben County
- Williams 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 Pearl Beach, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Pearl Beach) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |