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.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.
Port Sanilac is located in Sanilac 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 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)
- Forester is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forester
- 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)
- Richmondville is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmondville
- McGregor
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- McGregor is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGregor
- Deckerville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Croswell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Lexington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Berkshire ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Berkshire is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkshire
- Cash
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cash is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash
- Lexington Heights
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Lexington Heights is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington Heights
- Sandusky
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Sandusky is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
- 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)
- White Rock is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
- Ruth
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Helena
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Helena is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
- Ubly
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Harbor Beach
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Harbor Beach is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor Beach
- 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)
- Burnside is located in Lapeer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
- 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)
- Jeddo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeddo
- North Lakeport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- North Lakeport is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lakeport
- Blaine
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Blaine is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
- Lakeport
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Lakeport is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeport
- Former name for Lakeport:
- Milwaukee City
- Yale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Yale is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yale
- 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)
- Atkins is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
- 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)
- Ruby is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
- Brockway
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Brockway is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brockway
- Gardendale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Gardendale is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardendale
- 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.
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 Port Sanilac - one of the links might be able to help.
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)
- 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 Lee Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Lee Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the southeast of Carsonville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #920 <2>
- Forester Twp. Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forester Twp. Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Forester Twp. Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Forester.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1968376 <2>
- Old Ridge Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Zion Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Zion Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the west of Forester.
- The Mt. Zion Cemetery has also been known as:
- Old Greenwood Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1150 <2>
- 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)
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.<4>
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)
- Forester is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forester
- 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)
- Richmondville is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmondville
- Croswell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Lexington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Deckerville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Berkshire ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Berkshire is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkshire
- Cash
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cash is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash
- Forestville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Forestville is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
- Amadore ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Amadore is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amadore
- Palms
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Palms is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palms
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Charleston
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Charleston is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Peck
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Peck is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peck
- Population from the 2020 Census: 588 people
- Roseburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Roseburg is located in Sanilac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseburg
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]<3> 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 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 Port Sanilac:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Sanilac County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Huron County
- Lapeer County
- Saint Clair 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> | 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> | 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- Port Sanilac) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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. |