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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 Sparr (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 Sparr. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Sparr is located in Otsego 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 Otsego County: Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Kalkaska, Montmorency & Oscoda.

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

  • Otsego County     (The home county of Sparr)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparr, with the one closest to Sparr listed first.
    • Gaylord
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Johannesburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johannesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johannesburg
      • Johannesburg is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johannesburg <1>
    • Pearll City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pearll City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearll City
      • Pearll City is located in Otsego County
    • Vanderbilt
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Arbutus Beach
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Green Timbers
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Berryville ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berryville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryville
      • Berryville is located in Otsego County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Berryville
      • From Sparr to Berryville
    • Hetherton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hetherton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hetherton
      • Hetherton is located in Otsego County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hetherton
      • From Sparr to Hetherton
    • Lower Chub Landing ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Hallock
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hallock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallock
      • Hallock is located in Otsego County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hallock
      • From Sparr to Hallock
    • Waters
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Elmira
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmira have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
      • Elmira is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elmira <1>
  • Antrim County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparr, with the one closest to Sparr listed first.
    • Alba
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Wetzel ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wetzel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wetzel
      • Wetzel is located in Antrim County
      • Wetzel has also been known as:
      • Wetzell
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wetzel
      • From Sparr to Wetzel
    • Mancelona
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mancelona have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mancelona
      • Mancelona is located in Antrim County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,375 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mancelona <1>
    • Finkton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Charlevoix County
  • Cheboygan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparr, with the one closest to Sparr listed first.
    • Wolverine
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolverine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolverine
      • Wolverine is located in Cheboygan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 234 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wolverine <1>
    • Afton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Fingerboard Corner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Wildwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wildwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
      • Wildwood is located in Cheboygan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wildwood
      • From Sparr to Wildwood
    • Indian River
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian River
      • Indian River is located in Cheboygan County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Indian River <1>
    • Tower
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tower have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower
      • Tower is located in Cheboygan County
    • Burt Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burt Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burt Lake
      • Burt Lake is located in Cheboygan County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burt Lake <1>
    • Giauque Beach
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Topinabee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Crawford County
  • Emmet County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparr, with the one closest to Sparr listed first.
    • Ponshewaing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Alanson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alanson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alanson
      • Alanson is located in Emmet County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 755 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alanson <1>
    • Bay View
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Conway
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conway have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conway
      • Conway is located in Emmet County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Conway <1>
    • Kegomic ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kegomic. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegomic
      • Kegomic is located in Emmet County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kegomic
      • From Sparr to Kegomic
    • Oden
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Petoskey
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Kalkaska County
    • Westwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Westwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
      • Westwood is located in Kalkaska County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Westwood
      • From Sparr to Westwood
  • Montmorency County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparr, with the one closest to Sparr listed first.
    • Vienna Corners
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vienna Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna Corners
      • Vienna Corners is located in Montmorency County
    • Bigelow
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bigelow. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
      • Bigelow is located in Montmorency County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bigelow
      • From Sparr to Bigelow
    • Big Rock ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Big Rock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
      • Big Rock is located in Montmorency County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Big Rock
      • From Sparr to Big Rock
    • Lewiston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Garland Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garland Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland Village
      • Garland Village is located in Montmorency County
    • Canada Creek Ranch
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Atlanta
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Oscoda County
  • Presque Isle County

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

Cemeteries Near Sparr ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sparr.

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

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

  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • 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.
  • Bagley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bagley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bagley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Resurrection Catholic Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Resurrection Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Resurrection Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Resurrection Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Johannesburg Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Johannesburg Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Johannesburg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Vanderbilt Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vanderbilt Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vanderbilt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hallock Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hallock Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hallock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hayes Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hayes Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hayes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Otsego Lake Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Otsego Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Otsego Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Charleton Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Charleton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Charleton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gingell Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gingell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gingell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (83 more) ...
    • Hudson Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hudson Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hudson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. Thomas Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Thomas Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Thomas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Maple Hill Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Hill 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 Sparr in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sparr.

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

  • Gaylord
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Vanderbilt
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Otsego Lake
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otsego Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otsego Lake
    • Otsego Lake is located in Otsego County
  • Hetherton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hetherton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hetherton
    • Hetherton is located in Otsego County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Hetherton
    • From Sparr to Hetherton
  • Waters
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Trowbridge
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trowbridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trowbridge
    • Trowbridge is located in Cheboygan County
  • Elmira
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmira have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
    • Elmira is located in Otsego County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elmira <1>
  • Big Rock ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Big Rock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
    • Big Rock is located in Montmorency County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Big Rock
    • From Sparr to Big Rock
  • Wolverine
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolverine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolverine
    • Wolverine is located in Cheboygan County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 234 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wolverine <1>
  • Boyne Falls
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Alba
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Rondo
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rondo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rondo
    • Rondo is located in Cheboygan County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Sparr ...

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 Sparr.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sparr, 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 Sparr.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Sparr:

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

The official website for Otsego County: www.otsego.org/

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 Sparr, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sparr) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sparr. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.0417, Longitude: -84.5722    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025