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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 Saranac (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 Saranac. 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.

Saranac is located in Ionia 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 Ionia County: Barry, Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Kent & Montcalm.

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

  • Ionia County     (The home county of Saranac)
  • Allegan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saranac, with the one closest to Saranac listed first.
    • Moline
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Wayland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wayland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
      • Wayland is located in Allegan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,237 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wayland <2>
    • Dorr
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bradley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bradley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
      • Bradley is located in Allegan County
  • Barry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saranac, with the one closest to Saranac listed first.
    • Freeport
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
      • Freeport is located in Barry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 503 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeport <2>
    • Woodland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Hastings
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Irving
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Middleville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middleville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleville
      • Middleville is located in Barry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,510 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Middleville <2>
    • Morgan
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Morgan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
      • Morgan is located in Barry County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Morgan
      • From Saranac to Morgan
    • Nashville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nashville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville
      • Nashville is located in Barry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,696 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nashville <2>
    • Maple Grove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Cedar Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cedar Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek
      • Cedar Creek is located in Barry County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cedar Creek
      • From Saranac to Cedar Creek
    • Cloverdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Dowling
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saranac, with the one closest to Saranac listed first.
    • Westphalia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Eagle
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Fowler
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Maple Rapids
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Rapids have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Rapids
      • Maple Rapids is located in Clinton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 671 people
  • Eaton County
  • Gratiot County
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saranac, with the one closest to Saranac listed first.
    • Lowell
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Segwun
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Alto
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alto have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
      • Alto is located in Kent County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alto <2>
    • Parnell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Parnell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnell
      • Parnell is located in Kent County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Parnell
      • From Saranac to Parnell
    • Grattan
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Ada
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ada have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
      • Ada is located in Kent County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ada <2>
    • Forest Hills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
      • Forest Hills is located in Kent County
    • Cannonsburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Caledonia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Dutton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Kentwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kentwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentwood
      • Kentwood is located in Kent County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51,719 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kentwood <2>
    • Harvard
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Harvard. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard
      • Harvard is located in Kent County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Harvard
      • From Saranac to Harvard
    • East Grand Rapids
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Montcalm County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saranac, with the one closest to Saranac listed first.
    • Fenwick
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Amsden
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Eureka Place
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Greenville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
      • Greenville is located in Montcalm County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,386 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenville <2>
    • Sheridan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Vickeryville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Gowen
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gowen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowen
      • Gowen is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gowen <2>
    • Sidney
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sidney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
      • Sidney is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sidney <2>
    • Butternut
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Stanton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stanton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanton
      • Stanton is located in Montcalm County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,420 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stanton <2>
    • Carson City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carson City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson City
      • Carson City is located in Montcalm County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,105 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carson City <2>
    • Langston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Langston. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langston
      • Langston is located in Montcalm County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Langston
      • From Saranac to Langston
    • Crystal
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Ottawa County

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

Cemeteries Near Saranac ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Saranac.

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

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

  • Saranac Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • White Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the White Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the White Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pinckney Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pinckney Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pinckney Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • South Boston Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South Boston Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South Boston Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Marble Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Easton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Easton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Easton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McBride Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McBride Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McBride Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Letts Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Letts Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Letts Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Balcom Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Balcom Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Balcom Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fallass Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fallass Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fallass Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oakwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Clarksville Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clarksville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clarksville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (286 more) ...
    • St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Alderman Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Alderman Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Alderman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Sunset Memorial Gardens
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunset Memorial Gardens
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunset Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Saranac had a population of 790 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Saranac had a population of 1,325 people.

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

  • Clarksville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarksville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
    • Clarksville is located in Ionia County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 395 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarksville <2>
  • Fallassburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fallassburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallassburg
    • Fallassburg is located in Kent County
  • Lowell
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Elmdale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Ionia
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Alto
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alto have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
    • Alto is located in Kent County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alto <2>
  • Smyrna
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smyrna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smyrna
    • Smyrna is located in Ionia County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Smyrna <2>
  • West Sebewa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Alton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
    • Alton is located in Kent County
  • Lake Odessa
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Odessa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Odessa
    • Lake Odessa is located in Ionia County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,041 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Odessa <2>
  • Orleans
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Belding
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Freeport
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
      • Freeport is located in Barry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 503 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeport <2>
    • Woods Corners
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Parnell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Parnell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnell
      • Parnell is located in Kent County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Parnell
      • From Saranac to Parnell

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Saranac ...

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 198 newspapers that have been published in the area around Saranac.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Saranac. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Saranac and those printed in the larger area surrounding Saranac.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<6> of Saranac.

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 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 Saranac:

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

The official website for Ionia County: www.ioniacounty.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>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 Saranac, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Saranac) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Saranac. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.9296, Longitude: -85.2107    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025