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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 Suttons Bay (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 Suttons Bay. 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 Suttons Bay ...

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.

While the name of this village is Suttons Bay, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Suttons Bay may originally have been Sutton's Bay.

Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Suttons Bay might be written as Sutton Bay.

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 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.

Suttons Bay is located in Leelanau 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 Leelanau County: Benzie & Grand Traverse.

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

  • Leelanau County     (The home county of Suttons Bay)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Suttons Bay, with the one closest to Suttons Bay listed first.
    • Manseau ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Manseau is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manseau
    • Peshawbestown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Peshawbestown is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peshawbestown
    • Lake Leelanau
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Omena
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Leland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Bingham
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Bingham is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bingham
    • Schomberg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Schomberg is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schomberg
    • Bodus
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Bodus is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bodus
    • Isadore ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Isadore is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isadore
    • Northport
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Onominee ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Onominee is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onominee
      • Onominee has also been known as:
      • Onominese
      • Onomonese
      • Onuminee
      • Onumunese
    • Hatchs
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Hatchs is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchs
    • Cedar
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Antrim County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Suttons Bay, with the one closest to Suttons Bay listed first.
    • Elk Rapids
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Kewadin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Eastport
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Alden
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Central Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Clam Lake ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Clam Lake is located in Antrim County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clam Lake
    • Bellaire
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Ellsworth
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Finkton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Finkton is located in Antrim County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finkton
    • Mancelona
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Wetzel ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Wetzel is located in Antrim County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wetzel
      • Wetzel has also been known as:
      • Wetzell
  • Benzie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Suttons Bay, with the one closest to Suttons Bay listed first.
    • Lake Ann
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Bendon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Bendon is located in Benzie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bendon
    • Aral ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Aral is located in Benzie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aral
      • Aral has also been known as:
      • Otter Creek
    • Platte River
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Platte River is located in Benzie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte River
    • Honor
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Wallin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Wallin is located in Benzie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallin
  • Charlevoix County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Suttons Bay, with the one closest to Suttons Bay listed first.
    • Norwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Norwood is located in Charlevoix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
    • East Jordan
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Ironton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Ironton is located in Charlevoix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironton
    • Goo ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Goo is located in Charlevoix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goo
    • Charlevoix
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Grand Traverse County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Suttons Bay, with the one closest to Suttons Bay listed first.
    • Old Mission
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Mapleton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Mapleton is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapleton
    • Traverse City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Angel
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Angel is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
      • Angel has also been known as:
      • Angel Station
      • Angell Station
    • Acme
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Williamsburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Mabel
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Mabel is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
    • Tunk ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Tunk is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunk
    • Grawn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Devils Elbow
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Devils Elbow is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devils Elbow
    • Interlochen
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Mayfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Mayfield is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
    • Kingsley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Kingsley is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,618 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kingsley <2>
  • Kalkaska County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Suttons Bay, with the one closest to Suttons Bay listed first.
    • Torch River
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Torch River is located in Kalkaska County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Torch River
    • Rapid City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Barker Creek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Barker Creek is located in Kalkaska County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Creek
    • Westwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Westwood is located in Kalkaska County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
    • Kalkaska
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • South Boardman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Suttons Bay ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Suttons Bay.

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 Suttons Bay - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • St. Michael Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Sutton Twp. Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Immaculate Conception Catholic Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • East Leland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Wenceslaus Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Beechwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Omena Presbyterian Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Omena Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Leland Catholic Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (120 more) ...
    • Swedish Mission Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Kilwy Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Bingham Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)

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 Suttons Bay had a population of 255 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Suttons Bay had a population of 617 people.

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

  • Keswick
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Keswick is located in Leelanau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keswick
  • Omena
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Leland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Bingham
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Bingham is located in Leelanau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bingham
  • Old Mission
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Mapleton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Mapleton is located in Grand Traverse County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapleton
  • Northport
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Solon
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Solon is located in Leelanau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solon
  • Maple City
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Elk Rapids
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Yuba
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Yuba is located in Grand Traverse County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuba
  • Kewadin
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Creswell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Creswell is located in Antrim County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creswell
    • Port Oneida ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Port Oneida is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Oneida
    • Traverse City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Suttons Bay ...

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 71 newspapers that have been published in the area around Suttons Bay.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Suttons Bay. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Suttons Bay and those printed in the larger area surrounding Suttons Bay.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Suttons Bay.

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 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 Suttons Bay:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Suttons Bay, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Suttons Bay) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.