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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 Salem (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 Salem. 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 southwest 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 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.

Salem is located in Washtenaw 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 Washtenaw County: Jackson, Lenawee, Livingston, Monroe, Oakland & Wayne.

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

  • Washtenaw County     (The home county of Salem)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • Emery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Emery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emery
      • Emery is located in Washtenaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Emery
      • From Salem to Emery
    • Dixboro
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Barton Hills
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barton Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton Hills
      • Barton Hills is located in Washtenaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
    • Ypsilanti
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Ann Arbor
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Delhi Mills
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Delhi Mills. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi Mills
      • Delhi Mills is located in Washtenaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Delhi Mills
      • From Salem to Delhi Mills
    • Rawsonville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rawsonville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawsonville
      • Rawsonville is located in Washtenaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rawsonville
      • From Salem to Rawsonville
    • Pittsfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pittsfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsfield
      • Pittsfield is located in Washtenaw County
      • Pittsfield has also been known as:
      • Pittsfield Village
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pittsfield
      • From Salem to Pittsfield
    • Dexter
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Dover
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Stony Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Stony Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
      • Stony Creek is located in Washtenaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Stony Creek
      • From Salem to Stony Creek
    • Willis
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willis
      • Willis is located in Washtenaw County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Willis <3>
    • Hudson Mills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Genesee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • Fenton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fenton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
      • Fenton is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,374 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fenton <3>
    • Argentine
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Argentine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argentine
      • Argentine is located in Genesee County
    • Lakeside
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Linden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Linden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
      • Linden is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,954 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Linden <3>
  • Ingham County
  • Jackson County
  • Lenawee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • Macon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Clinton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clinton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
      • Clinton is located in Lenawee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,287 people
  • Livingston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • Green Oak
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Green Oak. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Oak
      • Green Oak is located in Livingston County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Green Oak
      • From Salem to Green Oak
    • Whitmore Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitmore Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitmore Lake
      • Whitmore Lake is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitmore Lake <3>
    • Hamburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hamburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
      • Hamburg is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hamburg <3>
    • Brighton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Lakeland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Pettysville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Chubb's Corners ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Pinckney
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinckney have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinckney
      • Pinckney is located in Livingston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,425 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pinckney <3>
    • Hartland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Hallers Corners
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Hell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Anderson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Anderson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
      • Anderson is located in Livingston County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Anderson
      • From Salem to Anderson
    • Chalkerville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Macomb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • Center Line
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Center Line have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Line
      • Center Line is located in Macomb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,090 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Center Line <3>
    • Dalton Corners ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Van Dyke ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Van Dyke. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Dyke
      • Van Dyke is located in Macomb County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Van Dyke
      • From Salem to Van Dyke
    • Warren
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warren have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
      • Warren is located in Macomb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 132,877 people
      • Warren has also been known as:
      • Cottageville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warren <3>
    • Spinnings ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Spinnings. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spinnings
      • Spinnings is located in Macomb County
      • Spinnings has also been known as:
      • Spinning
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Spinnings
      • From Salem to Spinnings
    • Shelby Village ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Sterling Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sterling Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling Heights
      • Sterling Heights is located in Macomb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 131,709 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sterling Heights <3>
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • Milan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Oakville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Carleton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Flat Rock
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Scofield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Azalia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Cone
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cone. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cone
      • Cone is located in Monroe County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cone
      • From Salem to Cone
    • Grafton ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Grafton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grafton
      • Grafton is located in Monroe County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Grafton
      • From Salem to Grafton
    • Maybee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • South Rockwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Rockwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Rockwood
      • South Rockwood is located in Monroe County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,648 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for South Rockwood <3>
    • Dundee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dundee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
      • Dundee is located in Monroe County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,687 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dundee <3>
    • Grape
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Steiner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Oakland County
  • Wayne County

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

Cemeteries Near Salem ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Salem.

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

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

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Salem had a population of 200 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Worden
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Worden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worden
    • Worden is located in Washtenaw County
  • Northville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • South Lyon
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Emery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Emery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emery
    • Emery is located in Washtenaw County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Emery
    • From Salem to Emery
  • Plymouth
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Novi
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Rushton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rushton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushton
    • Rushton is located in Livingston County
  • Dixboro
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • New Hudson
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Canton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Wixom
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Green Oak
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Green Oak. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Oak
    • Green Oak is located in Livingston County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Green Oak
    • From Salem to Green Oak
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Whitmore Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitmore Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitmore Lake
      • Whitmore Lake is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitmore Lake <3>
    • Geddes
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geddes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geddes
      • Geddes is located in Washtenaw County
    • Denton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Denton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denton
      • Denton is located in Wayne County

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

Newspapers Published in Salem ...

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 78 newspapers that have been published in the area around Salem.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Salem, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Salem.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Salem:

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

The official website for Washtenaw County: www.ewashtenaw.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>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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 Salem, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Salem) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Salem. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4062, Longitude: -83.5797    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025