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 Riverton (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 Riverton. 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.
Riverton is located in Mason 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 Mason County: Lake, Manistee, Newaygo & Oceana.
Below are the counties that are near Riverton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Riverton:
- Mason County (The home county of Riverton)
- The following are listed by their distance from Riverton, with the one closest to Riverton listed first.
- Amber
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Amber is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amber
- Amber has also been known as:
- Slaughtburg
- Scottville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Scottville is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,209 people
- Scottville has also been known as:
- Mason Center
- Sweetland
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scottville <1>
- Wiley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wiley is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiley
- Wiley has also been known as:
- Wileys
- Meisenheimer Corners
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- White Pine Village ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- White Pine Village is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Pine Village
- Custer
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Custer is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 284 people
- Former names for Custer:
- Black Creek
- Ferryville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Custer <1>
- Buttersville ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Buttersville is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buttersville
- Ludington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sugar Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Sugar Grove is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Sugar Grove has also been known as:
- Clark's Corners
- Fern
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fern is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern
- Fern has also been known as:
- Adamsville
- Elm Flats ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Elm Flats is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Flats
- Piney Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Piney Ridge is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Ridge
- Walhalla
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Lake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riverton, with the one closest to Riverton listed first.
- Sauble
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Sauble is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sauble
- Baldwin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Marlborough
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Marlborough is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlborough
- Peacock
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Peacock is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peacock
- Irons
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Idlewild
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Idlewild is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idlewild
- Manistee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riverton, with the one closest to Riverton listed first.
- Filer City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Filer City is located in Manistee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Filer City
- Oak Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Oak Hill is located in Manistee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Oak Hill has also been known as:
- Oakhill
- Eastlake
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Eastlake is located in Manistee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastlake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 509 people
- Manistee
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Parkdale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Parkdale is located in Manistee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkdale
- Udell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Udell is located in Manistee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Udell
- Dublin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Dublin is located in Manistee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dublin
- Wellston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Douglas
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Douglas is located in Manistee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Onekama Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Onekama Junction is located in Manistee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onekama Junction
- Newaygo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riverton, with the one closest to Riverton listed first.
- Lilley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Lilley is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilley
- Bitely
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Huber
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Huber is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huber
- Woodland Park
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Woodland Park is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Park
- Brohman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Brohman is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brohman
- Former names for Brohman:
- Dingman
- Otia
- Oceana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riverton, with the one closest to Riverton listed first.
- Pentwater
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- French Town
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- French Town is located in Oceana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Town
- Hart
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Mears
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Elbridge
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Elbridge is located in Oceana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbridge
- Cobmoosa
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cobmoosa is located in Oceana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobmoosa
- Cobmoosa has also been known as:
- Cob Moo Sa
- Walkerville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Shelby
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Ferry
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Ferry is located in Oceana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferry
- New Era
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Camp Claybanks ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Camp Claybanks is located in Oceana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Claybanks
- Rothbury
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hesperia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Riverton, see our County-by-County Page for Riverton.
Cemeteries Near Riverton ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Riverton.
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 Riverton - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Riverton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Riverton, with the one closest to Riverton listed first.
- Riverton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Center Riverton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Rickey Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- West Riverton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Summit Twp. Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Peters Catholic Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Brookside Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Towns Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towns Cemetery
- The Towns Cemetery has also been known as:
- North Amber Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1203 <2>
- Lakeside Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Lakeside Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 5 miles [8 km]<3> to the south of Scottville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #884 <2>
- Pere Marquette Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Phillips Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Custer Riverside - St. Mary's Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer Riverside - St. Mary's Cemetery
- The Custer Riverside - St. Mary's Cemetery has also been known as:
- Custer Cemetery
- Riverside Cemetery
- Riverside - St. Mary's Cemetery
- St. Mary's Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1503 <2>
- Continue List (105 more) ...
- South Victory Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Victory Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- North Weare Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Riverton had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Riverton, with the one closest to Riverton listed first.
- Amber
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Amber is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amber
- Amber has also been known as:
- Slaughtburg
- Wiley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wiley is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiley
- Wiley has also been known as:
- Wileys
- Scottville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Scottville is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,209 people
- Scottville has also been known as:
- Mason Center
- Sweetland
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scottville <1>
- Custer
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Custer is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 284 people
- Former names for Custer:
- Black Creek
- Ferryville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Custer <1>
- Ludington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Buttersville ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Buttersville is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buttersville
- Fern
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fern is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern
- Fern has also been known as:
- Adamsville
- Sugar Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Sugar Grove is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Sugar Grove has also been known as:
- Clark's Corners
- Pentwater
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Crystal Valley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Crystal Valley is located in Oceana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Valley
- Tallman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Tallman is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallman
- Tallman has also been known as:
- Weaver
- Batcheller ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Batcheller is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batcheller
- Batcheller has also been known as:
- Turtle Lake
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Fountain
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hart
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Mears
(15 miles [24.1 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 Riverton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Riverton.
Newspapers Published in Riverton ...
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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Riverton.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Riverton, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Riverton.
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 Riverton:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Mason County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Lake County
- Manistee County
- Newaygo County
- Oceana 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Riverton) 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 Riverton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |