RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Michigan >> Muskegon County >> Wabaningo >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Wabaningo (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 Wabaningo. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.

Wabaningo is located in Muskegon 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 Muskegon County: Kent, Newaygo, Oceana & Ottawa.

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

  • Muskegon County     (The home county of Wabaningo)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wabaningo, with the one closest to Wabaningo listed first.
    • Sylvan Beach
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Sylvan Beach is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan Beach
    • Montague
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Whitehall
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lakewood Club
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Lakewood Club is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Club
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,292 people
    • Dalton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Dalton is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton
    • North Muskegon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Twin Lake
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Muskegon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Muskegon Heights
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Roosevelt Park
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Norton Shores
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Holton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Wolf Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Wolf Lake is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
  • Newaygo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wabaningo, with the one closest to Wabaningo listed first.
    • Sitka
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Sitka is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
    • Reeman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Reeman is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeman
    • Brookside
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Brookside is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
    • Bridgeton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Bridgeton is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
    • Fremont
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Fremont is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,102 people
      • Former name for Fremont:
      • Fremont Center
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fremont <1>
    • Bishop
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Bishop is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
    • Huber
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Huber is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huber
    • Aetna
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Aetna is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aetna
    • Wooster
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Wooster is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooster
    • Grant
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Oceana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wabaningo, with the one closest to Wabaningo listed first.
    • Rothbury
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Camp Claybanks ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Camp Claybanks is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Claybanks
    • New Era
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Shelby
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Ferry
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Ferry is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferry
    • Mears
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Hart
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Hart is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hart
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,089 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hart <1>
    • Cobmoosa
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Cobmoosa is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobmoosa
      • Cobmoosa has also been known as:
      • Cob Moo Sa
    • Hesperia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Elbridge
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Elbridge is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbridge
    • French Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • French Town is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Town
    • Pentwater
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Walkerville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Ottawa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wabaningo, with the one closest to Wabaningo listed first.
    • Ferrysburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Grand Haven
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Spring Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Nunica
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Agnew
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Agnew is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew

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

Cemeteries Near Wabaningo ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wabaningo.

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 Wabaningo - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Duck Lake Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Mouth Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Sammis Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Oakhurst Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Fruitland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Old Sprague Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Hubbard Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Flower Creek Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Oakland Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (110 more) ...
    • Wave Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Oak Grove Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Bear Lake Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)

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 Wabaningo in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wabaningo.

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

  • Whitehall
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Montague
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Dalton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Dalton is located in Muskegon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton
  • North Muskegon
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Rothbury
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Muskegon
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Twin Lake
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • New Era
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Muskegon Heights
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Shelby
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Cloverville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Cloverville is located in Muskegon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverville
  • Holton
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Ferry
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Ferry is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferry
    • Fruitport
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Mears
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Wabaningo ...

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 95 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wabaningo.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wabaningo, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wabaningo.

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 Wabaningo:

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 Wabaningo, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Wabaningo) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.