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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 Sandusky (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 Sandusky. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Sandusky is located in Sanilac 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 Sanilac County: Huron, Lapeer, Saint Clair & Tuscola.

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

  • Sanilac County     (The home county of Sandusky)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandusky, with the one closest to Sandusky listed first.
    • Berkshire ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berkshire. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkshire
      • Berkshire is located in Sanilac County
    • Elmer
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmer
      • Elmer is located in Sanilac County
    • Watertown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watertown
      • Watertown is located in Sanilac County
    • Cash
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cash have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash
      • Cash is located in Sanilac County
    • Carsonville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Juhl
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Juhl have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juhl
      • Juhl is located in Sanilac County
    • Snover
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snover
      • Snover is located in Sanilac County
    • Deckerville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deckerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deckerville
      • Deckerville is located in Sanilac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 775 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deckerville <3>
    • Applegate
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Argyle
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
      • Argyle is located in Sanilac County
    • Peck
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peck
      • Peck is located in Sanilac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 588 people
    • Decker
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decker
      • Decker is located in Sanilac County
    • Palms
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palms
      • Palms is located in Sanilac County
  • Huron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandusky, with the one closest to Sandusky listed first.
    • Ruth
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ruth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
      • Ruth is located in Huron County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ruth <3>
    • Ubly
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • White Rock
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
      • White Rock is located in Huron County
    • Helena
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Helena have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
      • Helena is located in Huron County
    • Bad Axe
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bad Axe have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bad Axe
      • Bad Axe is located in Huron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,889 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bad Axe <3>
    • Harbor Beach
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor Beach
      • Harbor Beach is located in Huron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,570 people
      • Former name for Harbor Beach:
      • Sand Beach
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harbor Beach <3>
    • Rapson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapson
      • Rapson is located in Huron County
    • Owendale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Owendale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owendale
      • Owendale is located in Huron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Owendale <3>
  • Lapeer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandusky, with the one closest to Sandusky listed first.
    • Brown City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Burnside
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burnside have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
      • Burnside is located in Lapeer County
    • Clifford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clifford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
      • Clifford is located in Lapeer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 323 people
    • North Branch
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Silverwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silverwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverwood
      • Silverwood is located in Lapeer County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Silverwood <3>
    • Kings Mill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Mill
      • Kings Mill is located in Lapeer County
    • Lum
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lum
      • Lum is located in Lapeer County
    • Barnes Lake - Millers Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Imlay City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Imlay City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imlay City
      • Imlay City is located in Lapeer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,585 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Imlay City <3>
  • Saint Clair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandusky, with the one closest to Sandusky listed first.
    • Yale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yale
      • Yale is located in Saint Clair County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,861 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yale <3>
    • Jeddo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jeddo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeddo
      • Jeddo is located in Saint Clair County
    • Brockway
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brockway have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brockway
      • Brockway is located in Saint Clair County
    • Blaine
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
      • Blaine is located in Saint Clair County
    • Avoca
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • North Lakeport
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lakeport
      • North Lakeport is located in Saint Clair County
    • Atkins
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atkins have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
      • Atkins is located in Saint Clair County
    • Lakeport
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeport
      • Lakeport is located in Saint Clair County
      • Former name for Lakeport:
      • Milwaukee City
    • Capac
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capac
      • Capac is located in Saint Clair County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,846 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Capac <3>
    • Ruby
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
      • Ruby is located in Saint Clair County
    • Emmett
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmett
      • Emmett is located in Saint Clair County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 259 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emmett <3>
    • North Street
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Tuscola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandusky, with the one closest to Sandusky listed first.
    • Kingston
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Wilmot
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
      • Wilmot is located in Tuscola County
    • Deford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deford
      • Deford is located in Tuscola County
    • Cass City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cass City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cass City
      • Cass City is located in Tuscola County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,273 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cass City <3>
    • Elmwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood
      • Elmwood is located in Tuscola County
    • Gagetown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gagetown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gagetown
      • Gagetown is located in Tuscola County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gagetown <3>
    • Mayville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Caro
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caro
      • Caro is located in Tuscola County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,993 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Caro <3>
    • Fostoria
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fostoria have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fostoria
      • Fostoria is located in Tuscola County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Sandusky ...

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 65 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sandusky.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Sandusky. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Sandusky and those printed in the larger area surrounding Sandusky.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Sandusky.

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 Sandusky:

Cemeteries Near Sandusky ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sandusky.

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

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

  • St. Joseph's Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph's Cemetery
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Hyslop Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Zion Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Tucker Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Tucker Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tucker Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2202263 <5>
  • Juhl Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Steckley Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Washington Twp. Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Downing Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Farnsworth Grave
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Farnsworth Grave have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Farnsworth Grave
  • Moore Twp. Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Moore Twp. Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<4> to the north of Snover.
    • The Moore Twp. Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Moore Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moore Twp. Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1095 <5>
  • Continue List   (162 more) ...

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>

While we didn't find Sandusky in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sandusky.

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

  • Berkshire ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berkshire. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkshire
    • Berkshire is located in Sanilac County
  • Elmer
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmer
    • Elmer is located in Sanilac County
  • Cash
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cash have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash
    • Cash is located in Sanilac County
  • Juhl
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Juhl have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juhl
    • Juhl is located in Sanilac County
  • Carsonville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Deckerville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deckerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deckerville
    • Deckerville is located in Sanilac County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 775 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deckerville <3>
  • Applegate
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Peck
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peck
    • Peck is located in Sanilac County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 588 people
  • Argyle
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
    • Argyle is located in Sanilac County
  • Palms
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palms
    • Palms is located in Sanilac County
  • Shabbona
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shabbona have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shabbona
    • Shabbona is located in Sanilac County
  • Marlette
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Freidberger
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freidberger have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freidberger
      • Freidberger is located in Sanilac County
    • Speaker
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speaker
      • Speaker is located in Sanilac County
    • Croswell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Croswell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croswell
      • Croswell is located in Sanilac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,253 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Croswell <3>

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

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

The official website for Sanilac County: www.sanilaccounty.net/

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>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- Sandusky) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sandusky. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.4213, Longitude: -82.8302    
<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 Sandusky, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024