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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 Saint James (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 Saint James. 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 Saint James ...

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.

Saint James has also been known as: Beaver Island.

  • A typical abbreviation for Saint James: St. James

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

Saint James is located in Charlevoix County and is the County Seat.

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 Charlevoix County: Antrim, Emmet & Otsego.

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

  • Charlevoix County     (The home county of Saint James)
    • Nomad
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nomad. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nomad
      • Nomad is located in Charlevoix County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Nomad
      • From Saint James to Nomad
  • Emmet County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint James, with the one closest to Saint James listed first.
    • Good Hart
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Middle Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middle Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Village
      • Middle Village is located in Emmet County
    • Cross Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cross Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Village
      • Cross Village is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cross Village <2>
    • Stutsmanville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bliss
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bliss. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss
      • Bliss is located in Emmet County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bliss
      • From Saint James to Bliss
    • Marsh Corner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Mackinac County
  • Schoolcraft County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint James, with the one closest to Saint James listed first.
    • Blaney Junction
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Parkington ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Parkington. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkington
      • Parkington is located in Schoolcraft County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Parkington
      • From Saint James to Parkington
    • Gulliver
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Saint James ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Saint James.

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 Saint James covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • St. James Twp. Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. James Twp. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. James Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Cross Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Garden Island Indian Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Indian Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gould City Twp. Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gould City Twp. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gould City Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Polly Family Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Polly Family Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Polly Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Ignatius' Catholic Chuch Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Ignatius' Catholic Chuch Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Ignatius' Catholic Chuch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Island View Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Island View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Island View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Beran Baptist Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beran Baptist Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beran Baptist Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Indian Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Naubinway Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Naubinway Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Naubinway Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Readmond Twp. Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Readmond Twp. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Readmond Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (10 more) ...
    • Holy Cross Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Cross Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Engadine Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Engadine Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Engadine Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Epoufette Cemetery
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Epoufette Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Epoufette Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Saint James had a population of 168 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Good Hart
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
  • Naubinway
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Cross Village
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cross Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Village
    • Cross Village is located in Emmet County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cross Village <2>
  • Gould City
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
  • Corinne
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corinne have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinne
    • Corinne is located in Mackinac County
  • Epoufette
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Gilchrist
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilchrist have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilchrist
    • Gilchrist is located in Mackinac County
  • Brevort
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brevort have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brevort
    • Brevort is located in Mackinac County
  • Gulliver
    (29 miles [46.7 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 Saint James. See our List of 1890's Communities around Saint James.

Newspapers Published in Saint James ...

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 2 newspapers that have been published in the area around Saint James.

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 Saint James:

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

The official website for Charlevoix County: www.charlevoixcounty.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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 Saint James, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025