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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 Sunnyside (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 Sunnyside. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Sunnyside is located in Wayne County.

To see how the shape of Michigan's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Wayne County: Macomb, Monroe, Oakland & Washtenaw.

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

  • Wayne County     (The home county of Sunnyside)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sunnyside, with the one closest to Sunnyside listed first.
    • Eloise
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Eloise is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eloise
    • Inkster
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Taylor
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Romulus
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Wayne
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Garden City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Allen Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Dearborn Heights
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Westland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lincoln Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Melvindale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Elm
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Elm is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm
  • Lenawee County
    • Macon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Macon is located in Lenawee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
  • Livingston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sunnyside, with the one closest to Sunnyside listed first.
    • Green Oak
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Green Oak is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Oak
    • Whitmore Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Hamburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Brighton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lakeland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Macomb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sunnyside, with the one closest to Sunnyside listed first.
    • Dalton Corners ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Dalton Corners is located in Macomb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton Corners
    • Van Dyke ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Van Dyke is located in Macomb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Dyke
    • Center Line
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Warren
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Warren is located in Macomb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 132,877 people
      • Warren has also been known as:
      • Cottageville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warren <1>
    • Eastpointe
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Eastpointe is located in Macomb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastpointe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,720 people
      • Former names for Eastpointe:
      • East Detroit
      • Half-Way
      • Halfway
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eastpointe <1>
    • Spinnings ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Spinnings is located in Macomb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spinnings
      • Spinnings has also been known as:
      • Spinning
    • Roseville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Eagle Poine ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Eagle Poine is located in Macomb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Poine
    • Sterling Heights
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cady ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Cady is located in Macomb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cady
      • Cady has also been known as:
      • Cady's Corner
    • Fraser
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Plumb Brook ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Plumb Brook is located in Macomb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumb Brook
      • Plumb Brook has also been known as:
      • Plum Brook
      • Plumbrook Village
      • Plumbrook
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sunnyside, with the one closest to Sunnyside listed first.
    • Flat Rock
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Carleton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • South Rockwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Grafton ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Grafton is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grafton
    • Newport
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Oakville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Oakville is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
    • Scofield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Scofield is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scofield
    • Estral Beach
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Estral Beach is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estral Beach
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
    • Steiner
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Steiner is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steiner
    • Maybee
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Milan
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Detroit Beach
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Detroit Beach is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Detroit Beach
  • Oakland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sunnyside, with the one closest to Sunnyside listed first.
    • Clarenceville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Clarenceville is located in Oakland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarenceville
    • Farmington Acres
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Farmington Acres is located in Oakland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmington Acres
    • Farmington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Northville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Farmington Hills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Quakertown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Quakertown is located in Oakland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quakertown
    • Southfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Oak Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Lathrup Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Wood Creek Farms
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Wood Creek Farms is located in Oakland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Creek Farms
    • Ferndale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Novi
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Novi is located in Oakland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Novi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 60,852 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Novi <1>
  • Washtenaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sunnyside, with the one closest to Sunnyside listed first.
    • Rawsonville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Rawsonville is located in Washtenaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawsonville
    • Willis
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Ypsilanti
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Salem
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Salem is located in Washtenaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
    • Whittaker
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Whittaker is located in Washtenaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittaker
    • Dixboro
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Dixboro is located in Washtenaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixboro
    • Stony Creek
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Stony Creek is located in Washtenaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
    • Emery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Emery is located in Washtenaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emery
    • Pittsfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Pittsfield is located in Washtenaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsfield
      • Pittsfield has also been known as:
      • Pittsfield Village
    • Ann Arbor
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Barton Hills
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Barton Hills is located in Washtenaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
    • Saline
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Saline is located in Washtenaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saline
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,350 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saline <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Sunnyside ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sunnyside.

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.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Sunnyside - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sunnyside covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Eloise Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Ganong Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Westwood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Cemetery
    • The Westwood Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Mishkan Israel Cemetery
  • Union Chapel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Westlawn Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Mary Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Nowlin Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Glenwood Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Old Wayne Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Romulus City Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Taylor Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (361 more) ...
    • Northview Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Mt. Kelly Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Tyler Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)

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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Sunnyside had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Inkster
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Romulus
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Wayne
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Taylor Center
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Taylor Center is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Center
  • New Boston
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Elm
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Elm is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm
  • Livonia
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Stark
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Stark is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stark
  • Dearborn
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Beech
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Beech is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech
  • Redford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Canton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Belleville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Sibley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Sibley is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sibley
    • Wyandotte
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Sunnyside ...

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 529 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sunnyside.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sunnyside, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sunnyside.

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 Sunnyside:

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 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.
<3>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 Sunnyside, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Sunnyside) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.