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 Spring Grove (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 Spring Grove. 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 Spring Grove ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Spring Grove: Spring Grv.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Spring Grove is located in Allegan 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 Allegan County: Barry, Kalamazoo, Kent, Ottawa & Van Buren.
Below are the counties that are near Spring Grove. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Spring Grove:
- Allegan County (The home county of Spring Grove)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Grove, with the one closest to Spring Grove listed first.
- Leisure
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Hawkhead
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Glenn Haven Shores
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Glenn Shores
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Glenn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Pullman
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Cedar Bluff
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Ganges
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Miami Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Pleasant
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- South Haven Highlands
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Fennville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Berrien County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Grove, with the one closest to Spring Grove listed first.
- Paw Paw Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Watervliet
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Lake Michigan Beach
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Michigan Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Michigan Beach
- Lake Michigan Beach is located in Berrien County
- Coloma
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Riverside
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mizpah Park
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Twelve Corners
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Benton Heights
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benton Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton Heights
- Benton Heights is located in Berrien County
- Benton Harbor
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kalamazoo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Grove, with the one closest to Spring Grove listed first.
- Alamo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Oshtemo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Westwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- Westwood is located in Kalamazoo County
- Kent County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Grove, with the one closest to Spring Grove listed first.
- North Dorr
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Dorr have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dorr
- North Dorr is located in Kent County
- Byron Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ottawa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Grove, with the one closest to Spring Grove listed first.
- Macatawa
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Holland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Beechwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beechwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood
- Beechwood is located in Ottawa County
- Waverly
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Waverly. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
- Waverly is located in Ottawa County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Waverly
- From Spring Grove to Waverly
- Zeeland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Drenthe
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Drenthe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenthe
- Drenthe is located in Ottawa County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Drenthe
- From Spring Grove to Drenthe
- Noordeloos
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Forest Grove Station
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Forest Grove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Port Sheldon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Jamestown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hudsonville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Van Buren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Grove, with the one closest to Spring Grove listed first.
- Kibbie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Lacota
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Bloomingdale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Grand Junction
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- South Haven
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Breedsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bangor
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Covert
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Glendale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Gobles
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fish Corners
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Hartford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Spring Grove, see our County-by-County Page for Spring Grove.
Cemeteries Near Spring Grove ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Spring Grove.
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 Spring Grove covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Spring Grove, with the one closest to Spring Grove listed first.
- Stuller Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stuller Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stuller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- McDowell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McDowell Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McDowell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Stephenson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stephenson Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stephenson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Loomis Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Loomis Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Loomis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Taylor Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Taylor Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Taylor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Pearl Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pearl Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pearl Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Plummerville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Plummerville Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Plummerville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Lacota Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lacota Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lacota Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Lee Twp. Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lee Twp. Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lee Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Fennville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fennville Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fennville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Hutchins Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hutchins Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hutchins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Chambers Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Continue List (173 more) ...
- Saints Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Saints Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Saints Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Grove Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Lakeview Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
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 Spring Grove had a population of 43 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Spring Grove, with the one closest to Spring Grove listed first.
- Hawkhead
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bravo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bravo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bravo
- Bravo is located in Allegan County
- Glenn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Pearl
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pearl have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl
- Pearl is located in Allegan County
- Lee
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
- Lee is located in Allegan County
- Ganges
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Kibbie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Lacota
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Fennville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- South Haven
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bloomingdale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Grand Junction
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Douglas
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Saugatuck
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saugatuck have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saugatuck
- Saugatuck is located in Allegan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saugatuck <1>
- New Richmond
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Richmond have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
- New Richmond is located in Allegan County
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Spring Grove. See our List of 1890's Communities around Spring Grove.
Newspapers Published in Spring Grove ...
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 128 newspapers that have been published in the area around Spring Grove.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Spring Grove, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Spring Grove.
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 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 Spring Grove:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Allegan County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Berrien County
- Kalamazoo County
- Kent County
- Ottawa County
- Van Buren County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Michigan
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Spring Grove. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Allegan County: www.allegancounty.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 Spring Grove, 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 from Point A (ie- Spring Grove) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Spring Grove. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5062, Longitude: -86.1686 In this case, the coordinates for Spring Grove have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |