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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 Rapid River (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 Rapid River. 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 Rapid River ...

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 Rapid River: Rapid Riv.

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Rapid River is located in Delta 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 Delta County: Alger, Marquette, Menominee & Schoolcraft.

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

  • Delta County     (The home county of Rapid River)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rapid River, with the one closest to Rapid River listed first.
    • Garth
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garth
      • Garth is located in Delta County
    • Maplewood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maplewood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
      • Maplewood is located in Delta County
    • Kipling
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kipling
      • Kipling is located in Delta County
    • Brampton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brampton
      • Brampton is located in Delta County
    • Chaison
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaison
      • Chaison is located in Delta County
    • Gladstone
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Perkins
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkins
      • Perkins is located in Delta County
    • Beaver
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
      • Beaver is located in Delta County
    • Lambert
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert
      • Lambert is located in Delta County
    • Ogontz
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ogontz have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogontz
      • Ogontz is located in Delta County
    • Chandler
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler
      • Chandler is located in Delta County
    • Larch
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larch
      • Larch is located in Delta County
  • Alger County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rapid River, with the one closest to Rapid River listed first.
    • Trenary
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trenary have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenary
      • Trenary is located in Alger County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trenary <2>
    • Diffin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Diffin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diffin
      • Diffin is located in Alger County
    • Traunik
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Traunik
      • Traunik is located in Alger County
      • Former names for Traunik:
      • Buckeye Landing
      • Buckeye Spur
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Traunik <2>
    • Slapneck ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Slapneck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slapneck
      • Slapneck is located in Alger County
    • Chatham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Dorsey
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dorsey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorsey
      • Dorsey is located in Alger County
    • Eben Junction
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eben Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eben Junction
      • Eben Junction is located in Alger County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eben Junction <2>
    • Rumely
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rumely
      • Rumely is located in Alger County
  • Marquette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rapid River, with the one closest to Rapid River listed first.
    • McFarland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McFarland
      • McFarland is located in Marquette County
      • McFarland has also been known as:
      • McFarlands
    • Watson ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
      • Watson is located in Marquette County
    • Helena
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Helena have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
      • Helena is located in Marquette County
    • Arnold
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arnold have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
      • Arnold is located in Marquette County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arnold <2>
    • Carlshend
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carlshend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlshend
      • Carlshend is located in Marquette County
    • Little Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Lake
      • Little Lake is located in Marquette County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Little Lake <2>
  • Menominee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rapid River, with the one closest to Rapid River listed first.
    • Perronville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perronville
      • Perronville is located in Menominee County
    • Dryads ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dryads. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dryads
      • Dryads is located in Menominee County
    • Harris
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harris have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
      • Harris is located in Menominee County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harris <2>
    • LaBranche
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaBranche
      • LaBranche is located in Menominee County
    • Wilson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
      • Wilson is located in Menominee County
    • Spalding
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spalding have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spalding
      • Spalding is located in Menominee County
  • Schoolcraft County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rapid River, with the one closest to Rapid River listed first.
    • Cooks
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cooks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks
      • Cooks is located in Schoolcraft County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cooks <2>
    • Elkhorn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
      • Elkhorn is located in Schoolcraft County
    • Minor Beach
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor Beach
      • Minor Beach is located in Schoolcraft County
    • Steuben
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Steuben have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
      • Steuben is located in Schoolcraft County

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

Newspapers Published in Rapid River ...

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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rapid River.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rapid River, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rapid River.

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 either 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 Rapid River:

Cemeteries Near Rapid River ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rapid River.

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 Rapid River covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Rapid River Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rapid River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rapid River Cemetery
  • Garth Point Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Garth Point Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Garth Point Cemetery
  • McLeod Grave
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McLeod Grave have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McLeod Grave
  • Perkins Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Fernwood Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fernwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fernwood Cemetery
  • Bay de Noc Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bay de Noc Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bay de Noc Cemetery
  • Johnston Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Johnston Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Johnston Cemetery
  • Dutch Mill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dutch Mill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dutch Mill Cemetery
  • Ogontz Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ogontz Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ogontz Cemetery
  • Flat Rock Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Flat Rock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Flat Rock Cemetery
  • St. Jacques' Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Jacques' Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Jacques' Cemetery
  • Garden of Rest Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Garden of Rest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Garden of Rest Cemetery
  • Continue List   (45 more) ...
    • Lakewood Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakewood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakewood Cemetery
    • Flat Rock Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Flat Rock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Flat Rock Cemetery
    • Lakeview Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)

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 Rapid River had a population of 100 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Masonville
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Masonville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masonville
    • Masonville is located in Delta County
  • Kipling
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kipling
    • Kipling is located in Delta County
  • Brampton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brampton
    • Brampton is located in Delta County
  • Gladstone
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Ensign
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ensign have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ensign
    • Ensign is located in Delta County
  • Perkins
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkins
    • Perkins is located in Delta County
  • West Gladstone
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Gladstone have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Gladstone
    • West Gladstone is located in Delta County
  • Beaver
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
    • Beaver is located in Delta County
  • Ogontz
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ogontz have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogontz
    • Ogontz is located in Delta County
  • North Escanaba
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Escanaba have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Escanaba
    • North Escanaba is located in Delta County
  • Campbell
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campbell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
    • Campbell is located in Delta County
  • Wells
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
    • Wells is located in Delta County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Flat Rock
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flat Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
      • Flat Rock is located in Delta County
    • Escanaba
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Rock
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)

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

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

The official website for Delta County: www.deltacountymi.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rapid River) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rapid River. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.9267, Longitude: -86.9671    
<5>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.
<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 Rapid River, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024