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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 Union City (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 Union City. 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.

Union City is primarily located in Branch County. A portion of Union City extends into Calhoun 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 Branch County: LaGrange (IN), Steuben (IN), Calhoun, Hillsdale & Saint Joseph.

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

  • Branch County     (The home county of Union City)
  • Barry County
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union City, with the one closest to Union City listed first.
    • Burlington
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burlington have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
      • Burlington is located in Calhoun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 277 people
    • Athens
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Athens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
      • Athens is located in Calhoun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 996 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Athens <2>
    • Tekonsha
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • East Leroy
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Leroy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Leroy
      • East Leroy is located in Calhoun County
    • Joppa
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Sonoma
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sonoma. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonoma
      • Sonoma is located in Calhoun County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sonoma
      • From Union City to Sonoma
    • West Leroy
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for West Leroy. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leroy
      • West Leroy is located in Calhoun County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to West Leroy
      • From Union City to West Leroy
    • Beadle Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Ceresco
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ceresco have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceresco
      • Ceresco is located in Calhoun County
    • Marshall
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marshall have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall
      • Marshall is located in Calhoun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,923 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marshall <2>
    • Homer
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Battle Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Brownlee Park
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brownlee Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownlee Park
      • Brownlee Park is located in Calhoun County
  • Eaton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union City, with the one closest to Union City listed first.
    • Bellevue
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bellevue have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
      • Bellevue is located in Eaton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,299 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bellevue <2>
    • Olivet
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Ainger
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Hillsdale County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union City, with the one closest to Union City listed first.
    • Litchfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Litchfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Litchfield
      • Litchfield is located in Hillsdale County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,328 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Litchfield <2>
    • Allen
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Allen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
      • Allen is located in Hillsdale County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 192 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Allen <2>
    • Jonesville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jonesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville
      • Jonesville is located in Hillsdale County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,206 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jonesville <2>
    • Mosherville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mosherville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosherville
      • Mosherville is located in Hillsdale County
    • Reading
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Montgomery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montgomery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
      • Montgomery is located in Hillsdale County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
    • Hillsdale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Camden
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Steamburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union City, with the one closest to Union City listed first.
    • Concord
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Devereaux
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Hanover
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hanover have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanover
      • Hanover is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 424 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hanover <2>
    • Parma
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parma have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parma
      • Parma is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 731 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parma <2>
  • Kalamazoo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union City, with the one closest to Union City listed first.
    • Fulton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fulton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
      • Fulton is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Climax
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Scotts
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scotts have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts
      • Scotts is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scotts <2>
    • Pavillion Center
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Vicksburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Augusta
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Galesburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Comstock
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Comstock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
      • Comstock is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Portage
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Milwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • South Gull Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Gull Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gull Lake
      • South Gull Lake is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Yorkville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Yorkville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkville
      • Yorkville is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Yorkville
      • From Union City to Yorkville
    • Schoolcraft
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Saint Joseph County
  • LaGrange County (IN)
  • Steuben County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union City, with the one closest to Union City listed first.
    • Jamestown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Orland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orland
      • Orland is located in Steuben County (IN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 426 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orland <2>
    • Fremont
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fremont have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
      • Fremont is located in Steuben County (IN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,205 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fremont <2>
    • Ray
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Clear Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clear Lake. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
      • Clear Lake is located in Steuben County (IN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clear Lake
      • From Union City to Clear Lake
    • Angola
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Angola have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angola
      • Angola is located in Steuben County (IN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,827 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Angola <2>
    • York
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for York. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
      • York is located in Steuben County (IN)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to York
      • From Union City to York

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

Cemeteries Near Union City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Union City.

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 Union City covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Riverside Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Burlington Twp. Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burlington Twp. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burlington Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Burg Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Burg Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Burg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Abscota Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Abscota Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Abscota Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • West Prairie Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Prairie Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Prairie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Windfall Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Windfall Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Windfall Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Barrington Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Barrington Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Barrington Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Burr Oak Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burr Oak Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burr Oak Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • North Sherwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Sherwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Sherwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sherwood Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sherwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sherwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Walker Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Walker Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Walker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Indian Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (322 more) ...
    • Blossom Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blossom Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blossom Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • German Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the German Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the German Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Evergreen Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Union City had a population of 1,156 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Union City had a population of 1,564 people.

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

  • Burlington
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burlington have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
    • Burlington is located in Calhoun County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 277 people
  • Hodunk
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hodunk. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodunk
    • Hodunk is located in Branch County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Hodunk
    • From Union City to Hodunk
  • Athens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Athens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
    • Athens is located in Calhoun County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 996 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Athens <2>
  • Sherwood
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Girard
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Tekonsha
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • East Leroy
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Leroy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Leroy
    • East Leroy is located in Calhoun County
  • Factoryville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Matteson
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Joppa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Pine Creek
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Creek
    • Pine Creek is located in Calhoun County
  • Batavia
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Union City ...

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 87 newspapers that have been published in the area around Union City.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Union City. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Union City and those printed in the larger area surrounding Union City.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<5> of Union City.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Union City:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Union City. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Branch County: www.co.branch.mi.us/

The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 Union City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Union City) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Union City. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.0669, Longitude: -85.1367    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025