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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 Sickles (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 Sickles. 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 hospitals 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.

Sickles is located in Gratiot 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 Gratiot County: Clinton, Ionia, Isabella, Midland, Montcalm, Saginaw & Shiawassee.

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

  • Gratiot County     (The home county of Sickles)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sickles, with the one closest to Sickles listed first.
    • Edgewood
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Edgewood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
      • Edgewood is located in Gratiot County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Edgewood
      • From Sickles to Edgewood
    • North Star
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Ashley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Ithaca
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ithaca have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ithaca
      • Ithaca is located in Gratiot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,744 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ithaca <2>
    • Breckenridge
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Breckenridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breckenridge
      • Breckenridge is located in Gratiot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,265 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Breckenridge <2>
    • Wheeler
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheeler have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
      • Wheeler is located in Gratiot County
    • Pompeii
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bannister
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Alma
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alma have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
      • Alma is located in Gratiot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,807 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alma <2>
    • Saint Louis
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • North Wheeler
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Wheeler have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wheeler
      • North Wheeler is located in Gratiot County
    • Perrinton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Middleton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Bay County
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sickles, with the one closest to Sickles listed first.
    • Eureka
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eureka have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
      • Eureka is located in Clinton County
    • Elsie
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Duplain
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Maple Rapids
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Rapids have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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
    • Shepardsville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Ovid
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ovid have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <2>
    • Saint Johns
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Johns have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <2>
    • Price
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • 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.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price
      • Price is located in Clinton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Price
      • From Sickles to Price
    • Fowler
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • East DeWitt
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Westphalia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • De Witt
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Genesee County
  • Ionia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sickles, with the one closest to Sickles listed first.
    • Hubbardston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hubbardston have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbardston
      • Hubbardston is located in Ionia County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 402 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hubbardston <2>
    • Matherton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Pewamo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Palo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Isabella County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sickles, with the one closest to Sickles listed first.
    • Coe
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coe have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coe
      • Coe is located in Isabella County
    • Shepherd
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Alembic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Crawford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Strickland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Strickland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strickland
      • Strickland is located in Isabella County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Strickland
      • From Sickles to Strickland
    • Mount Pleasant
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Winn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winn have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winn
      • Winn is located in Isabella County
    • Jordan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jordan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
      • Jordan is located in Isabella County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Jordan
      • From Sickles to Jordan
  • Midland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sickles, with the one closest to Sickles listed first.
    • Redstone
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Ryan
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ryan have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan
      • Ryan is located in Midland County
    • Porter
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Oil City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oil City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
      • Oil City is located in Midland County
    • Midland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Averill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Averill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Averill
      • Averill is located in Midland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Averill
      • From Sickles to Averill
    • Sanford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • North Bradley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Montcalm County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sickles, with the one closest to Sickles listed first.
    • Carson City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carson City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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>
    • Crystal
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Butternut
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Vestaburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Vickeryville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Cedar Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
      • Cedar Lake is located in Montcalm County
    • McBride
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McBride have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBride
      • McBride is located in Montcalm County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McBride <2>
  • Saginaw County
  • Shiawassee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sickles, with the one closest to Sickles listed first.
    • Henderson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Henderson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson
      • Henderson is located in Shiawassee County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henderson <2>
    • Burton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Smith Crossing
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Five Points
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Owosso
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Middletown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middletown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
      • Middletown is located in Shiawassee County
    • Corunna
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corunna have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <2>
    • New Lothrop
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Lothrop have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lothrop
      • New Lothrop is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Lothrop <2>
    • Laingsburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laingsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <2>
    • Juddville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Sickles ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sickles.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sickles, with the one closest to Sickles 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Sickles had a population of 72 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Edgewood
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Edgewood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
    • Edgewood is located in Gratiot County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Edgewood
    • From Sickles to Edgewood
  • Rathbone
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rathbone have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rathbone
    • Rathbone is located in Gratiot County
  • North Star
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Galloway
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Galloway have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galloway
    • Galloway is located in Saginaw County
  • Ashley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Beebe
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beebe have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beebe
    • Beebe is located in Gratiot County
  • Ithaca
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ithaca have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ithaca
    • Ithaca is located in Gratiot County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,744 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ithaca <2>
  • Pompeii
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Wheeler
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheeler have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
    • Wheeler is located in Gratiot County
  • Breckenridge
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Breckenridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breckenridge
    • Breckenridge is located in Gratiot County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,265 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Breckenridge <2>
  • Bannister
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Merrill
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (22 more) ...
    • Brant
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brant have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brant
      • Brant is located in Saginaw County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brant <2>
    • Nelson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Bridgeville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bridgeville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeville
      • Bridgeville is located in Gratiot County

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

Newspapers Published in Sickles ...

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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sickles.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sickles, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sickles.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Sickles:

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

The official website for Gratiot County: www.co.gratiot.mi.us/

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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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>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 from Point A (ie- Sickles) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sickles. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.2777, Longitude: -84.4489    
<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 Sickles, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025