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 Prairie (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 Prairie. 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 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.
Prairie is located in Ionia 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 Ionia County: Barry, Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Kent & Montcalm.
Below are the counties that are near Prairie. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Prairie:
- Ionia County (The home county of Prairie)
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie, with the one closest to Prairie listed first.
- Ionia
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- South Ionia
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- South Ionia is located in Ionia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ionia
- Lyons
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Muir
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Woods Corners
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Woods Corners is located in Ionia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Corners
- Orleans
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Orleans is located in Ionia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
- Shiloh
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Shiloh is located in Ionia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Pewamo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Palo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Palo is located in Ionia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palo
- West Sebewa
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- West Sebewa is located in Ionia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Sebewa
- Saranac
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Portland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Matherton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Matherton is located in Ionia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matherton
- Barry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie, with the one closest to Prairie listed first.
- Woodland
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Woodland is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 449 people
- Freeport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Morgan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Morgan is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
- Nashville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Hastings
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Irving
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Irving is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
- Middleville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Maple Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Maple Grove is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie, with the one closest to Prairie listed first.
- Westphalia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Fowler
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Eagle
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Maple Rapids
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Maple Rapids is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Rapids
- Population from the 2020 Census: 671 people
- Saint Johns
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- De Witt
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- East DeWitt
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- East DeWitt is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East DeWitt
- Eureka
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Eureka is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Price
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Price is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price
- Clinton Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Clinton Village is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton Village
- Gunnisonville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Gunnisonville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunnisonville
- Duplain
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Duplain is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duplain
- Shepardsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Shepardsville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shepardsville
- Eaton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie, with the one closest to Prairie listed first.
- Sunfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Woodbury
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Woodbury is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbury
- Mulliken
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Little Venice
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Little Venice is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Venice
- Grand Ledge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Needmore
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Needmore is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
- Gresham
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Gresham is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gresham
- Stalls Corner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Stalls Corner is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stalls Corner
- Vermontville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Chester
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Chester is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
- Waverly
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Waverly is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
- Millett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Millett is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millett
- Millett has also been known as:
- Milletts
- Potterville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Gratiot County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie, with the one closest to Prairie listed first.
- Middleton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Perrinton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Perrinton is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrinton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 391 people
- Sumner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Sumner is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumner
- Pompeii
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Elm Hall
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Elm Hall is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Hall
- Riverdale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Ithaca
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- North Star
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- North Star is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Star
- North Star has also been known as:
- Northstar
- Ingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie, with the one closest to Prairie listed first.
- Edgemont Park
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Edgemont Park is located in Ingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgemont Park
- North Lansing
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- North Lansing is located in Ingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lansing
- Lansing
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kent County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie, with the one closest to Prairie listed first.
- Lowell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Segwun
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Segwun is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Segwun
- Grattan
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Grattan is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grattan
- Alto
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Parnell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Parnell is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnell
- Cannonsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Harvard
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Harvard is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard
- Ada
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Forest Hills
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Forest Hills is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
- Sheffield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sheffield is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield
- Caledonia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Northview
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Northview is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northview
- Rockford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Montcalm County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie, with the one closest to Prairie listed first.
- Fenwick
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Fenwick is located in Montcalm County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenwick
- Amsden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Amsden is located in Montcalm County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsden
- Vickeryville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Vickeryville is located in Montcalm County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vickeryville
- Butternut
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Butternut is located in Montcalm County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butternut
- Sheridan
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Carson City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Eureka Place
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Eureka Place is located in Montcalm County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Place
- Greenville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sidney
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Crystal
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Stanton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Gowen
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Entrican
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Entrican is located in Montcalm County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Entrican
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Prairie, see our County-by-County Page for Prairie.
Cemeteries Near Prairie ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Prairie.
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 Prairie - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Prairie covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Prairie, with the one closest to Prairie listed first.
- Highland Park Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Tuttle Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Oakhill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Balcom Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sunset Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ionia County Poor Farm Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Muir Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Higbee Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Steel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Keefer Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Lyons Twp. Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (265 more) ...
- North Plains Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Snows Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Woodard Lake Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
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 Prairie in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Prairie.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Prairie, with the one closest to Prairie listed first.
- Ionia
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Lyons
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Muir
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Collins
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Collins is located in Ionia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Woods Corners
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Woods Corners is located in Ionia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Corners
- Orleans
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Orleans is located in Ionia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
- Shiloh
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Shiloh is located in Ionia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Saranac
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- West Sebewa
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- West Sebewa is located in Ionia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Sebewa
- Pewamo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Palo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Palo is located in Ionia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palo
- Portland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Fenwick
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Fenwick is located in Montcalm County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenwick
- Matherton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Matherton is located in Ionia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matherton
- Westphalia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Prairie. See our List of 1890's Communities around Prairie.
Newspapers Published in Prairie ...
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 117 newspapers that have been published in the area around Prairie.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Prairie, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Prairie.
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 helpful 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 Prairie:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Ionia County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barry County
- Clinton County
- Eaton County
- Gratiot County
- Ingham County
- Kent County
- Montcalm 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 Prairie, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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- Prairie) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |