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










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Michigan

The Commemorative Quarter for Michigan





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 Waterloo (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 Waterloo. 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 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.

Waterloo is located in Jackson 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 Jackson County: Calhoun, Eaton, Hillsdale, Ingham, Lenawee, Livingston & Washtenaw.

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

  • Jackson County     (The home county of Waterloo)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
    • Trist
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Trist. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trist
      • Trist is located in Jackson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Trist
      • From Waterloo to Trist
    • Munith
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Grass Lake
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grass Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grass Lake
      • Grass Lake is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,140 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grass Lake <2>
    • Fishville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Leoni
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Leoni. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leoni
      • Leoni is located in Jackson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Leoni
      • From Waterloo to Leoni
    • Pleasant Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
      • Pleasant Lake is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Lake <2>
    • Michigan Center
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Norvell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norvell have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norvell
      • Norvell is located in Jackson County
    • Napoleon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Napoleon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napoleon
      • Napoleon is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Napoleon <2>
    • Jackson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Vandercook Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Rives Junction
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rives Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rives Junction
      • Rives Junction is located in Jackson County
    • Brooklyn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brooklyn have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
      • Brooklyn is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,165 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brooklyn <2>
  • Eaton County
  • Hillsdale County
  • Ingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
    • Stockbridge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Fitchburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Bunker Hill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Dansville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Leslie
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • North Leslie
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Leslie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Leslie
      • North Leslie is located in Ingham County
    • Pollok ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Webberville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webberville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webberville
      • Webberville is located in Ingham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,300 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webberville <2>
    • Mason
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mason have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
      • Mason is located in Ingham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,389 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mason <2>
    • Onondaga
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Williamston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Meridian
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Meridian. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
      • Meridian is located in Ingham County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Meridian
      • From Waterloo to Meridian
    • Holt
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holt have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt
      • Holt is located in Ingham County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holt <2>
  • Lenawee County
  • Livingston County
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
    • Cone
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cone. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cone
      • Cone is located in Monroe County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cone
      • From Waterloo to Cone
    • Milan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Oakland County
  • Shiawassee County
    • Nicholson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nicholson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholson
      • Nicholson is located in Shiawassee County
  • Washtenaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterloo, with the one closest to Waterloo listed first.
    • Chelsea
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chelsea have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea
      • Chelsea is located in Washtenaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,377 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chelsea <2>
    • Hudson Mills
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Dexter
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Dover
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Sharon Hollow
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Rowes Corner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Manchester
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manchester have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
      • Manchester is located in Washtenaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,144 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manchester <2>
    • Delhi Mills
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Delhi Mills. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi Mills
      • Delhi Mills is located in Washtenaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Delhi Mills
      • From Waterloo to Delhi Mills
    • Bridgewater
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bridgewater have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgewater
      • Bridgewater is located in Washtenaw County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bridgewater <2>
    • Barton Hills
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barton Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton Hills
      • Barton Hills is located in Washtenaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
    • Ann Arbor
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Saline
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Emery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Emery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emery
      • Emery is located in Washtenaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Emery
      • From Waterloo to Emery

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

Cemeteries Near Waterloo ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Waterloo.

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

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

  • Waterloo Village Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Waterloo Village Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Waterloo Village Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Hope Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Loveland Road Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Loveland Road Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Loveland Road Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Jacob's German Lutheran Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Jacob's German Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Jacob's German Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • North Waterloo Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Waterloo Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Waterloo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Miles Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Miles Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Miles Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Salem Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salem Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salem Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Moss Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. John's Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. John's Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. John's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (378 more) ...
    • Canfield Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Canfield Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Canfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Collins Plains Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Collins Plains Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Collins Plains Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Oaklawn Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oaklawn Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oaklawn 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 Waterloo had a population of 100 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Trist
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Trist. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trist
    • Trist is located in Jackson County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Trist
    • From Waterloo to Trist
  • Francisco
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Francisco have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francisco
    • Francisco is located in Jackson County
  • Chelsea
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chelsea have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea
    • Chelsea is located in Washtenaw County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,377 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chelsea <2>
  • Unadilla
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Munith
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Grass Lake
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grass Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grass Lake
    • Grass Lake is located in Jackson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,140 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grass Lake <2>
  • Stockbridge
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Gregory
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Fitchburg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Roots
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roots have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roots
    • Roots is located in Jackson County
  • Leoni
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Leoni. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leoni
    • Leoni is located in Jackson County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Leoni
    • From Waterloo to Leoni
  • Anderson
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Anderson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
    • Anderson is located in Livingston County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Anderson
    • From Waterloo to Anderson
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Plainfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Plainfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
      • Plainfield is located in Livingston County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Plainfield
      • From Waterloo to Plainfield
    • White Oak
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
      • White Oak is located in Ingham County
    • Michigan Center
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Waterloo ...

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 214 newspapers that have been published in the area around Waterloo.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Waterloo, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Waterloo.

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 helpful 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 Waterloo:

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

The official website for Jackson County: www.co.jackson.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 Waterloo, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Waterloo) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Waterloo. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3532, Longitude: -84.1401    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025