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 Toquin (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 Toquin. 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 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 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.
Toquin is located in Van Buren 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 Van Buren County: Allegan, Berrien, Cass, Kalamazoo & Saint Joseph.
Below are the counties that are near Toquin. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Toquin:
- Van Buren County (The home county of Toquin)
- The following are listed by their distance from Toquin, with the one closest to Toquin listed first.
- Covert
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fish Corners
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Fish Corners is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Corners
- Hartford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bangor
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lawrence
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Breedsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- South Haven
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Keeler
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Keeler is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeler
- Kibbie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Kibbie is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibbie
- Lacota
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lacota is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacota
- Bloomingdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Grand Junction
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Glendale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Glendale is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Allegan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Toquin, with the one closest to Toquin listed first.
- Mount Pleasant
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- South Haven Highlands
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Hawkhead
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Hawkhead is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkhead
- Leisure
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Leisure is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure
- Leisure has also been known as:
- East Casco
- Miami Park
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Miami Park is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miami Park
- Miami Park has also been known as:
- Miami Park Beach
- Miomi Park Beach
- Cedar Bluff
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Cedar Bluff is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Bluff
- Glenn Haven Shores
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Glenn Haven Shores is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Haven Shores
- Glenn Haven Shores has also been known as:
- Hollywood
- Glenn Shores
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Glenn Shores is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Shores
- Glenn Shores has also been known as:
- Glenn Stores
- Spring Grove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Spring Grove is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
- Pullman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Glenn
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Ganges
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Ganges is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ganges
- Fennville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Berrien County
- The following are listed by their distance from Toquin, with the one closest to Toquin listed first.
- Paw Paw Lake
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Paw Paw Lake is located in Berrien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paw Paw Lake
- Watervliet
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Coloma
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lake Michigan Beach
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Lake Michigan Beach is located in Berrien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Michigan Beach
- Riverside
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside is located in Berrien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Twelve Corners
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Twelve Corners is located in Berrien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twelve Corners
- Benton Heights
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Benton Heights is located in Berrien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton Heights
- Mizpah Park
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mizpah Park is located in Berrien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mizpah Park
- Naomi
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Naomi is located in Berrien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naomi
- Benton Harbor
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Shanghai Corners
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Shanghai Corners is located in Berrien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanghai Corners
- Fair Plain
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fair Plain is located in Berrien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Plain
- Sodus
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sodus is located in Berrien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sodus
- Cass County
- The following are listed by their distance from Toquin, with the one closest to Toquin listed first.
- Dowagiac
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- La Grange
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- La Grange is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Grange
- Pokagon
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Pokagon is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pokagon
- Sumnerville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Sumnerville is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumnerville
- Penn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Penn is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn
- Wakelee
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wakelee is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakelee
- Cassopolis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Marcellus
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Vandalia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Vandalia is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Brownsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brownsville is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Kalamazoo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Toquin, with the one closest to Toquin listed first.
- Alamo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Alamo is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamo
- Oshtemo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Westwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Westwood is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- Saint Joseph County
- Chamberlain
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Chamberlain is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamberlain
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Toquin, see our County-by-County Page for Toquin.
Cemeteries Near Toquin ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Toquin.
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 Toquin - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Toquin covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Toquin, with the one closest to Toquin listed first.
- Rush Lake Catholic Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Emmanuel Home Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Van Auken Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Thomas Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Covert Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fish Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Fairview Memorial Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Pioneer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Maple Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Watervliet Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Southard Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (208 more) ...
- Taylor Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Coloma Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Coloma Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Coloma.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #270670 <2>
- Harris Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Toquin had a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Toquin, with the one closest to Toquin listed first.
- McDonald
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- McDonald is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDonald
- Covert
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hartford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Watervliet
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Coloma
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bangor
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Riverside
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside is located in Berrien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Lawrence
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Breedsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- South Haven
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Twelve Corners
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Twelve Corners is located in Berrien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twelve Corners
- Millburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Millburg is located in Berrien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millburg
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Lacota
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lacota is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacota
- Kibbie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Kibbie is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibbie
- Spinks Corners
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Spinks Corners is located in Berrien County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spinks Corners
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Toquin. See our List of 1890's Communities around Toquin.
Newspapers Published in Toquin ...
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 Toquin.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Toquin, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Toquin.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Toquin:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Van Buren County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegan County
- Berrien County
- Cass County
- Kalamazoo County
- Saint Joseph 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> | 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 Toquin, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Toquin) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |