RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Michigan >> Kent County >> Segwun >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Michigan

The Commemorative Quarter for Michigan





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 Segwun (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 Segwun. 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 Segwun ...

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.

Another variation: Segwan.

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 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.

Segwun is located in Kent 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 Kent County: Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo & Ottawa.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Segwun ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Segwun.

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

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

  • McBride Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Mary Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fox's Corner Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Wright Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wright Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wright Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Krum Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Krum Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Krum Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Snow Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Snow Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Snow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Merriman Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • South Boston Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pinckney Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fallass Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (296 more) ...
    • Vergennes Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vergennes Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vergennes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Rolfe Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rolfe Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rolfe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • White Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • 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.<2> 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>

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

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

  • Lowell
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Fallassburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fallassburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallassburg
    • Fallassburg is located in Kent County
  • Alto
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alto have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
  • Elmdale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Whitneyville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitneyville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitneyville
    • Whitneyville is located in Kent County
  • Saranac
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Alton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
    • Alton is located in Kent County
  • Clarksville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarksville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
  • Ada
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ada have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
  • Cascade
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cascade have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
    • Cascade is located in Kent County
  • Alaska
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alaska have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
    • Alaska is located in Kent County
  • Parnell
    (8 miles [12.9 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 Segwun to Parnell
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Labarge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Labarge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Labarge
      • Labarge is located in Kent County
    • Smyrna
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smyrna have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Freeport
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Segwun ...

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 242 newspapers that have been published in the area around Segwun.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Segwun, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Segwun.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Segwun:

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

The official website for Kent County: www.accesskent.com/

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

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 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>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 Segwun, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Segwun) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Segwun. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.9239, Longitude: -85.3426    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

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.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025