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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 Vanderbilt (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 Vanderbilt. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Vanderbilt is located in Otsego 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 Otsego County: Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Kalkaska, Montmorency & Oscoda.

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

  • Otsego County     (The home county of Vanderbilt)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vanderbilt, with the one closest to Vanderbilt listed first.
    • Berryville ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Green Timbers
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Gaylord
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Hallock
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hallock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallock
      • Hallock is located in Otsego County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hallock
      • From Vanderbilt to Hallock
    • Sparr
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Elmira
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmira have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
      • Elmira is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elmira <2>
    • Pearll City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pearll City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearll City
      • Pearll City is located in Otsego County
    • Arbutus Beach
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Johannesburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johannesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johannesburg
      • Johannesburg is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johannesburg <2>
    • Hetherton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hetherton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hetherton
      • Hetherton is located in Otsego County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hetherton
      • From Vanderbilt to Hetherton
    • Lower Chub Landing ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Waters
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Antrim County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vanderbilt, with the one closest to Vanderbilt listed first.
    • Alba
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Wetzel ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wetzel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wetzel
      • Wetzel is located in Antrim County
      • Wetzel has also been known as:
      • Wetzell
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wetzel
      • From Vanderbilt to Wetzel
    • Finkton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Mancelona
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mancelona have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mancelona
      • Mancelona is located in Antrim County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,375 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mancelona <2>
    • Bellaire
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Ellsworth
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Central Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Central Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Lake
      • Central Lake is located in Antrim County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 942 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Central Lake <2>
  • Charlevoix County
  • Cheboygan County
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vanderbilt, with the one closest to Vanderbilt listed first.
    • Deward ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Deward. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deward
      • Deward is located in Crawford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Deward
      • From Vanderbilt to Deward
    • Frederic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Bucks
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bucks. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucks
      • Bucks is located in Crawford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bucks
      • From Vanderbilt to Bucks
  • Emmet County
  • Kalkaska County
    • Westwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Westwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
      • Westwood is located in Kalkaska County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Westwood
      • From Vanderbilt to Westwood
  • Montmorency County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vanderbilt, with the one closest to Vanderbilt listed first.
    • Vienna Corners
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vienna Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna Corners
      • Vienna Corners is located in Montmorency County
    • Bigelow
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bigelow. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
      • Bigelow is located in Montmorency County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bigelow
      • From Vanderbilt to Bigelow
    • Canada Creek Ranch
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Big Rock ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Big Rock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
      • Big Rock is located in Montmorency County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Big Rock
      • From Vanderbilt to Big Rock
    • Lewiston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Atlanta
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Garland Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garland Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland Village
      • Garland Village is located in Montmorency County
  • Presque Isle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vanderbilt, with the one closest to Vanderbilt listed first.
    • Onaway
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Black Lake Bluffs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Lake Bluffs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Lake Bluffs
      • Black Lake Bluffs is located in Presque Isle County

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

Cemeteries Near Vanderbilt ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vanderbilt.

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

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

  • Vanderbilt Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vanderbilt Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vanderbilt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Resurrection Catholic Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Resurrection Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Resurrection Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Resurrection Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Hudson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hudson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hudson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Hallock Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hallock Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hallock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bagley Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bagley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bagley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Chandler Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chandler Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chandler Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hayes Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hayes Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hayes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Silver Lake Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Howard Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Howard Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Howard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (104 more) ...
    • St. Thomas Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Thomas Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Thomas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Maple Hill Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Maple Hill Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Hill 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Vanderbilt had a population of 325 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Vanderbilt had a population of 558 people.

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

  • Gaylord
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Trowbridge
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trowbridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trowbridge
    • Trowbridge is located in Cheboygan County
  • Wolverine
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolverine have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolverine
    • Wolverine is located in Cheboygan County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 234 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wolverine <2>
  • Elmira
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmira have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
    • Elmira is located in Otsego County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elmira <2>
  • Rondo
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rondo have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rondo
    • Rondo is located in Cheboygan County
  • Boyne Falls
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Otsego Lake
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otsego Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otsego Lake
    • Otsego Lake is located in Otsego County
  • Clarion
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarion have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarion
    • Clarion is located in Charlevoix County
  • Wildwood
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wildwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
    • Wildwood is located in Cheboygan County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Wildwood
    • From Vanderbilt to Wildwood
  • Hetherton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hetherton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hetherton
    • Hetherton is located in Otsego County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Hetherton
    • From Vanderbilt to Hetherton
  • Epsilon
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Epsilon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epsilon
    • Epsilon is located in Emmet County
  • Boyne City
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • 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 Vanderbilt. See our List of 1890's Communities around Vanderbilt.

Newspapers Published in Vanderbilt ...

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 76 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vanderbilt.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Vanderbilt, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Vanderbilt.

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 Vanderbilt:

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

The official website for Otsego County: www.otsego.org/

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>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.
<5>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 Vanderbilt, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Vanderbilt) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Vanderbilt. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.1426, Longitude: -84.6607    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025