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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 Port Sanilac (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 Port Sanilac. 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 Port Sanilac ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Port Sanilac: Prt. Sanilac

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 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.

Port Sanilac is located in Sanilac 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 Sanilac County: Huron, Lapeer, Saint Clair & Tuscola.

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

  • Sanilac County     (The home county of Port Sanilac)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Port Sanilac, with the one closest to Port Sanilac listed first.
    • Forester
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forester
      • Forester is located in Sanilac County
    • Applegate
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Carsonville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Richmondville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmondville
      • Richmondville is located in Sanilac County
    • McGregor
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for McGregor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGregor
      • McGregor is located in Sanilac County
    • Deckerville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deckerville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deckerville
      • Deckerville is located in Sanilac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 775 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deckerville <1>
    • Croswell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Croswell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croswell
      • Croswell is located in Sanilac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,253 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Croswell <1>
    • Lexington
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Berkshire ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berkshire. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkshire
      • Berkshire is located in Sanilac County
    • Cash
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cash. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash
      • Cash is located in Sanilac County
    • Lexington Heights
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington Heights
      • Lexington Heights is located in Sanilac County
    • Sandusky
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
      • Sandusky is located in Sanilac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,494 people
      • Former name for Sandusky:
      • Sanilac Centre
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sandusky <1>
  • Huron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Port Sanilac, with the one closest to Port Sanilac listed first.
    • White Rock
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
      • White Rock is located in Huron County
    • Ruth
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ruth have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
      • Ruth is located in Huron County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ruth <1>
    • Helena
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Helena. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
      • Helena is located in Huron County
    • Ubly
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Harbor Beach
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor Beach
      • Harbor Beach is located in Huron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,570 people
      • Former name for Harbor Beach:
      • Sand Beach
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harbor Beach <1>
  • Lapeer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Port Sanilac, with the one closest to Port Sanilac listed first.
    • Brown City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Burnside
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Burnside. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
      • Burnside is located in Lapeer County
  • Saint Clair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Port Sanilac, with the one closest to Port Sanilac listed first.
    • Jeddo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jeddo have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeddo
      • Jeddo is located in Saint Clair County
    • North Lakeport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lakeport
      • North Lakeport is located in Saint Clair County
    • Blaine
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
      • Blaine is located in Saint Clair County
    • Lakeport
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeport
      • Lakeport is located in Saint Clair County
      • Former name for Lakeport:
      • Milwaukee City
    • Yale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yale
      • Yale is located in Saint Clair County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,861 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yale <1>
    • Atkins
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Atkins. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
      • Atkins is located in Saint Clair County
    • North Street
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Avoca
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Ruby
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
      • Ruby is located in Saint Clair County
    • Brockway
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brockway. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brockway
      • Brockway is located in Saint Clair County
    • Gardendale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gardendale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardendale
      • Gardendale is located in Saint Clair County
    • Fort Gratiot ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Port Sanilac ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Port Sanilac.

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

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

  • Sanilac Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • St. Mary Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Hubbell Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hubbell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hubbell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. John Lutheran Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Ridge Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Pine Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Lee Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lee Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Lee Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<5> to the northwest of Carsonville.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #920 <4>
  • Forester Twp. Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Old Ridge Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Ridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Zion Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Zion Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<5> to the east of Forester.
    • The Mt. Zion Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Old Greenwood Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1150 <4>
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Washington Twp. Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (119 more) ...
    • Long Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • East Marion Baptist Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Tucker Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tucker Cemetery
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Tucker Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2202263 <4>

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 Port Sanilac had a population of 520 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Port Sanilac had a population of 574 people.

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

  • Forester
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forester
    • Forester is located in Sanilac County
  • Applegate
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Carsonville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Richmondville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmondville
    • Richmondville is located in Sanilac County
  • Croswell
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Croswell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croswell
    • Croswell is located in Sanilac County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,253 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Croswell <1>
  • Lexington
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Deckerville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deckerville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deckerville
    • Deckerville is located in Sanilac County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 775 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deckerville <1>
  • Berkshire ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berkshire. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkshire
    • Berkshire is located in Sanilac County
  • Cash
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cash. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash
    • Cash is located in Sanilac County
  • Forestville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
    • Forestville is located in Sanilac County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
  • Amadore ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amadore
    • Amadore is located in Sanilac County
  • Palms
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palms
    • Palms is located in Sanilac County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Charleston
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Charleston have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
      • Charleston is located in Sanilac County
    • Peck
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peck
      • Peck is located in Sanilac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 588 people
    • Roseburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Roseburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseburg
      • Roseburg is located in Sanilac County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Port Sanilac ...

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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Port Sanilac.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Port Sanilac. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Port Sanilac and those printed in the larger area surrounding Port Sanilac.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Port Sanilac.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Port Sanilac:

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

The official website for Sanilac County: www.sanilaccounty.net/

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

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>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.
<3>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.
<4>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.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Port Sanilac) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Port Sanilac. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.4286, Longitude: -82.5448       In this case, the coordinates for Port Sanilac have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Port Sanilac, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025