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 Sunset Beach (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 Sunset Beach. 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 Sunset Beach ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Sunset Beach: Sunset Bch.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sunset Beach. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sunset Beach.
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 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 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.
Sunset Beach is located in Jackson 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 Jackson County: Calhoun, Eaton, Hillsdale, Ingham, Lenawee, Livingston & Washtenaw.
Below are the counties that are near Sunset Beach. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sunset Beach:
- Jackson County (The home county of Sunset Beach)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Beach, with the one closest to Sunset Beach listed first.
- Brooklyn
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Norvell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Norvell is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norvell
- Napoleon
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Clarklake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Fishville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Fishville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishville
- Liberty
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Liberty is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Grass Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Leoni
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Leoni is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leoni
- Michigan Center
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- South Jackson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- South Jackson is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Jackson
- Vandercook Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Vandercook Lake is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandercook Lake
- Jackson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jackson is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 32,374 people
- Former name for Jackson:
- Jacksonopolis
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jackson <1>
- Calhoun County
- Albion
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Hillsdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Beach, with the one closest to Sunset Beach listed first.
- Somerset
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Somerset Center
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Somerset Center is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset Center
- Jerome
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Moscow
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Moscow is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Locust Corners
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Locust Corners is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Corners
- North Adams
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- North Adams is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Adams
- Population from the 2020 Census: 461 people
- Pittsford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Osseo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lickly Corners
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Lickly Corners is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickly Corners
- Prattville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Prattville is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prattville
- Mosherville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Mosherville is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosherville
- Hillsdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Ingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Beach, with the one closest to Sunset Beach listed first.
- Fitchburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Fitchburg is located in Ingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitchburg
- Stockbridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Bunker Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Bunker Hill is located in Ingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill
- Leslie
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- North Leslie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- North Leslie is located in Ingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Leslie
- Onondaga
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lenawee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Beach, with the one closest to Sunset Beach listed first.
- Cambridge Junction
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cambridge Junction is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge Junction
- Onsted
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Cement City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Devils Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Devils Lake is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devils Lake
- Tipton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Addison Junction
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Addison Junction is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison Junction
- Manitou Beach - Devils Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Manitou Beach
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Addison
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Clinton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Clinton is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,287 people
- Rollin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Rollin is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollin
- Tecumseh
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Livingston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Beach, with the one closest to Sunset Beach listed first.
- Unadilla
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Unadilla is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unadilla
- Chalkerville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Chalkerville is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkerville
- Chalkerville has also been known as:
- Chalkers Landing
- Kaiserville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Kaiserville is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaiserville
- Gregory
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Hell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hell is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hell
- Hell has also been known as:
- Hi Land Lake
- Highland Lake
- Hiland Lake
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hell <1>
- Anderson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Anderson is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Plainfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Plainfield is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
- Pinckney
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Beach, with the one closest to Sunset Beach listed first.
- Cone
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Cone is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cone
- Milan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Azalia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Azalia is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Azalia
- Dundee
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Petersburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Petersburg Junction
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Petersburg Junction is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg Junction
- Washtenaw County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Beach, with the one closest to Sunset Beach listed first.
- Sharon Hollow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Sharon Hollow is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon Hollow
- Manchester
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rowes Corner
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rowes Corner is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowes Corner
- Bridgewater
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Chelsea
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Saline
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Dexter
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Pittsfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Pittsfield is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsfield
- Pittsfield has also been known as:
- Pittsfield Village
- Hudson Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hudson Mills is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson Mills
- Delhi Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Delhi Mills is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi Mills
- Dover
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Dover is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
- Ann Arbor
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fulton County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Beach, with the one closest to Sunset Beach listed first.
- Denson ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Denson is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denson
- Ritters ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Ritters is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritters
- Lyons
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Powers ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Powers is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powers
- Powers has also been known as:
- Powers Station
- Whiteville ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Whiteville is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteville
- Fayette
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Inlet ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Inlet is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inlet
- Oakshade
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Oakshade is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakshade
- Metamora
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Thelma ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Thelma is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thelma
- Leslie ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Leslie is located in Fulton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leslie
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sunset Beach, see our County-by-County Page for Sunset Beach.
Cemeteries Near Sunset Beach ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sunset Beach.
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 Sunset Beach - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sunset Beach covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sunset Beach, with the one closest to Sunset Beach listed first.
- Brooklyn Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Cambridge Junction Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Briggs Lake Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Springville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Norvell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Peterson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jefferson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Osborn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Maple Shade Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Sanford Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hand Hillside Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (386 more) ...
- Mills Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cement City Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Ray Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Sunset Beach in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sunset Beach.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sunset Beach, with the one closest to Sunset Beach listed first.
- Brooklyn
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Springville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Springville is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Norvell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Norvell is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norvell
- Onsted
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Napoleon
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Devils Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Devils Lake is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devils Lake
- Addison Junction
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Addison Junction is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison Junction
- Tipton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Manitou Beach
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Geneva
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Geneva is located in Lenawee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
- Manchester
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Addison
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Liberty
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Liberty is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Grass Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Somerset Center
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Somerset Center is located in Hillsdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset Center
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sunset Beach. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sunset Beach.
Newspapers Published in Sunset Beach ...
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 127 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sunset Beach.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sunset Beach, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sunset Beach.
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 Sunset Beach:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Jackson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Hillsdale County
- Ingham County
- Lenawee County
- Livingston County
- Monroe County
- Washtenaw County
- Fulton County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Michigan
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> | 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 Sunset Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sunset Beach) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |