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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 Shaftsburg (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 Shaftsburg. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Shaftsburg is located in Shiawassee 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 Shiawassee County: Clinton, Genesee, Gratiot, Ingham, Livingston & Saginaw.

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

  • Shiawassee County     (The home county of Shaftsburg)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaftsburg, with the one closest to Shaftsburg listed first.
    • Perry
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Morrice
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morrice have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrice
      • Morrice is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 906 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morrice <1>
    • Laingsburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laingsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laingsburg
      • Laingsburg is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,283 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Laingsburg <1>
    • Nicholson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nicholson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholson
      • Nicholson is located in Shiawassee County
    • Bancroft
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bancroft have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
      • Bancroft is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 494 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bancroft <1>
    • Burton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Five Points
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Newburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Middletown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middletown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
      • Middletown is located in Shiawassee County
    • Owosso
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Smith Crossing
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Corunna
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corunna have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
      • Corunna is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,320 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Corunna <1>
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaftsburg, with the one closest to Shaftsburg listed first.
    • Bath
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bath have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
      • Bath is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bath <1>
    • Gunnisonville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Price
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Price. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price
      • Price is located in Clinton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Price
      • From Shaftsburg to Price
    • Clinton Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clinton Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton Village
      • Clinton Village is located in Clinton County
    • East DeWitt
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Ovid
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ovid have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ovid
      • Ovid is located in Clinton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,607 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ovid <1>
    • De Witt
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Shepardsville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Duplain
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Johns
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Johns have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
      • Saint Johns is located in Clinton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,904 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Johns <1>
    • Elsie
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Eureka
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eureka have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
      • Eureka is located in Clinton County
  • Eaton County
  • Genesee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaftsburg, with the one closest to Shaftsburg listed first.
    • Gaines
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Duffield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Argentine
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • Linden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • 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 <1>
    • Swartz Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swartz Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swartz Creek
      • Swartz Creek is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,491 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Swartz Creek <1>
    • Bayport Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Fenton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • 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 <1>
    • Lake Fenton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Lakeside
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Flushing
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flushing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flushing
      • Flushing is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,840 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Flushing <1>
  • Gratiot County
  • Ingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaftsburg, with the one closest to Shaftsburg listed first.
    • Haslett
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haslett have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haslett
      • Haslett is located in Ingham County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haslett <1>
    • Williamston
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Meridian
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Meridian. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
      • Meridian is located in Ingham County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Meridian
      • From Shaftsburg to Meridian
    • Okemos
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • East Lansing
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Lansing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lansing
      • East Lansing is located in Ingham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47,641 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Lansing <1>
    • Webberville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webberville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webberville
      • Webberville is located in Ingham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,300 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webberville <1>
    • Pollok ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • North Lansing
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Lansing
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Holt
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holt have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt
      • Holt is located in Ingham County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holt <1>
    • Edgemont Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edgemont Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgemont Park
      • Edgemont Park is located in Ingham County
    • Dansville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaftsburg, with the one closest to Shaftsburg listed first.
    • Munith
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Berryville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
      • Pleasant Lake is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Lake <1>
    • Rives Junction
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rives Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rives Junction
      • Rives Junction is located in Jackson County
  • Livingston County
  • Saginaw County

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

Cemeteries Near Shaftsburg ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shaftsburg.

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

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

  • Oak Plain Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Plain Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Plain Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Kay Family Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kay Family Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kay Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2497004 <4>
  • Graham Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Graham Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Graham Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodhull Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodhull Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodhull Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brick Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brick Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brick Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Roselawn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Roselawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Roselawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Perry Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Perry Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Perry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sprague Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sprague Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sprague Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bethemy Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethemy Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethemy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rose Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Foote Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Foote Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Foote Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (277 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Shaftsburg had a population of 130 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Perry
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Laingsburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laingsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laingsburg
    • Laingsburg is located in Shiawassee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,283 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Laingsburg <1>
  • Morrice
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morrice have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrice
    • Morrice is located in Shiawassee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 906 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morrice <1>
  • Pittsburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pittsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
    • Pittsburg is located in Shiawassee County
  • Bath
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bath have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
    • Bath is located in Clinton County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bath <1>
  • Okemos
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Meridian
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Meridian. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
    • Meridian is located in Ingham County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Meridian
    • From Shaftsburg to Meridian
  • Williamston
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Bennington
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bennington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennington
    • Bennington is located in Shiawassee County
  • Webberville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webberville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webberville
    • Webberville is located in Ingham County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,300 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webberville <1>
  • Gunnisonville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Bancroft
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bancroft have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
    • Bancroft is located in Shiawassee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 494 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bancroft <1>
  • Continue List   (21 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Shaftsburg ...

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 166 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shaftsburg.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shaftsburg, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Shaftsburg.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Shaftsburg:

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

The official website for Shiawassee County: www.shiawassee.net/

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 Shaftsburg, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Shaftsburg) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shaftsburg. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.8050, Longitude: -84.2932    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025