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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 Pearl (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. 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 southeast 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 south.

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 south 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 is located in Allegan 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 Allegan County: Barry, Kalamazoo, Kent, Ottawa & Van Buren.

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

  • Allegan County     (The home county of Pearl)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pearl, with the one closest to Pearl listed first.
    • Fennville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Pullman
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Spring Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Spring Grove is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
    • Leisure
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Leisure is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure
      • Leisure has also been known as:
      • East Casco
    • Ganges
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Ganges is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ganges
    • Hawkhead
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Hawkhead is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkhead
    • Glenn
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Douglas
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Cedar Bluff
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Cedar Bluff is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Bluff
    • Glenn Haven Shores
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Glenn Haven Shores is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Haven Shores
      • Glenn Haven Shores has also been known as:
      • Hollywood
    • Glenn Shores
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Glenn Shores is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Shores
      • Glenn Shores has also been known as:
      • Glenn Stores
    • Miami Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Miami Park is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miami Park
      • Miami Park has also been known as:
      • Miami Park Beach
      • Miomi Park Beach
    • Mount Pleasant
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
  • Barry County
    • Doster
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Doster is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doster
  • Berrien County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pearl, with the one closest to Pearl listed first.
    • Paw Paw Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Paw Paw Lake is located in Berrien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paw Paw Lake
    • Watervliet
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Coloma
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake Michigan Beach
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake Michigan Beach is located in Berrien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Michigan Beach
    • Riverside
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Riverside is located in Berrien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
  • Kalamazoo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pearl, with the one closest to Pearl listed first.
    • Alamo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Alamo is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamo
    • Oshtemo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Westwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Westwood is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
    • East Cooper
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • East Cooper is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cooper
    • Parchment
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pearl, with the one closest to Pearl listed first.
    • North Dorr
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • North Dorr is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dorr
    • Byron Center
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Corinth
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Corinth is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
    • Carlisle
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Carlisle is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
    • Cutlerville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Grandville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Ottawa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pearl, with the one closest to Pearl listed first.
    • Holland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Macatawa
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Beechwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Beechwood is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood
    • Waverly
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Waverly is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
    • Drenthe
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Drenthe is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenthe
    • Zeeland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Noordeloos
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Noordeloos is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noordeloos
    • Forest Grove Station
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Forest Grove Station is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove Station
    • Forest Grove
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Forest Grove is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove
    • Jamestown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jamestown is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
    • Port Sheldon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Port Sheldon is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Sheldon
    • South Blendon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • South Blendon is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Blendon
    • Hudsonville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Van Buren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pearl, with the one closest to Pearl listed first.
    • Bloomingdale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Grand Junction
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Lacota
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Lacota is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacota
    • Kibbie
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Kibbie is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibbie
    • Breedsville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • South Haven
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Bangor
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Bangor is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,808 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bangor <1>
    • Gobles
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Glendale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Glendale is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
    • Kendall
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Kendall is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
    • Covert
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • North Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • North Lake is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lake
    • Fish Corners
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Fish Corners is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Corners

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

Cemeteries Near Pearl ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pearl.

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 - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Pearl Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Stuller Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Fennville Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Valley Twp. Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Hutchins Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Loomis Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Lee Twp. Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Manlius Twp. Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Taylor Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Rowe Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Junction Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (193 more) ...
    • Plummerville Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • McDowell Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Stephenson Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Pearl had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Bravo
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Bravo is located in Allegan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bravo
  • Fennville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Spring Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Spring Grove is located in Allegan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
  • Lee
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Lee is located in Allegan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
  • Ganges
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Ganges is located in Allegan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ganges
  • Glenn
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Hawkhead
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Hawkhead is located in Allegan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkhead
  • New Richmond
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • New Richmond is located in Allegan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
  • Dunningville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Dunningville is located in Allegan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunningville
  • Douglas
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • East Saugatuck
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • East Saugatuck is located in Allegan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Saugatuck
  • Kibbie
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Kibbie is located in Van Buren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibbie
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Lacota
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Lacota is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacota
    • Bloomingdale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Grand Junction
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Pearl ...

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 108 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pearl.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pearl, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pearl.

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 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:

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