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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 Watervale (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 Watervale. 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.

Watervale is located in Benzie 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 Benzie County: Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Manistee & Wexford.

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

  • Benzie County     (The home county of Watervale)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Watervale, with the one closest to Watervale listed first.
    • Elberta
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Frankfort
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Benzonia
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Beulah
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Honor
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Thompsonville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Aral ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Aral is located in Benzie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aral
      • Aral has also been known as:
      • Otter Creek
    • Platte River
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Platte River is located in Benzie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte River
    • Nessen City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Nessen City is located in Benzie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nessen City
    • Wallin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Wallin is located in Benzie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallin
    • Griner Station
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Griner Station is located in Benzie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griner Station
      • Griner Station has also been known as:
      • Print
    • Bendon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Bendon is located in Benzie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bendon
  • Grand Traverse County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Watervale, with the one closest to Watervale listed first.
    • Karlin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Karlin is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karlin
    • Interlochen
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Pavlovic Corner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Pavlovic Corner is located in Grand Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavlovic Corner
    • Grawn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Leelanau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Watervale, with the one closest to Watervale listed first.
    • Empire
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Jacktown ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jacktown is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacktown
      • Jacktown has also been known as:
      • Osborn
    • Burdickville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Burdickville is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdickville
    • Glen Haven ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Glen Haven is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Haven
    • Glen Arbor
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Maple City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Cedar
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Solon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Solon is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solon
    • Port Oneida ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Port Oneida is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Oneida
    • Shalda Corners ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Shalda Corners is located in Leelanau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shalda Corners
  • Manistee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Watervale, with the one closest to Watervale listed first.
    • Arcadia
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Malcolm
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Malcolm is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malcolm
    • Bear Lake
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Humphrey
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Humphrey is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humphrey
    • Onekama
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Henry ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Henry is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
    • Norwalk
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Norwalk is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
    • Onekama Junction
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Onekama Junction is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onekama Junction
    • Copemish
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Chief Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Chief Lake is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chief Lake
    • Douglas
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Douglas is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
    • Kaleva
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Mason County
    • Free Soil
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Wexford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Watervale, with the one closest to Watervale listed first.
    • Bagnall
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Bagnall is located in Wexford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagnall
    • Glengary
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Glengary is located in Wexford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glengary
    • Buckley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Mesick
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Yuma
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Yuma is located in Wexford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuma
    • Sherman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Sherman is located in Wexford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman
    • Harrietta
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Watervale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Watervale.

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

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

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

  • Blaine Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Gilmore Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Pilgrim Home Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Joyfield Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joyfield Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Joyfield Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<3> to the south of Benzonia.
    • The Joyfield Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Joyfield Twp. Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #821 <2>
  • Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Conway Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Pleasonton Twp. Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Crystal Lake Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Benzonia Twp. Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Onekama Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Lakeview Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (78 more) ...
    • Springdale Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Weldon Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Bear Lake Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)

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>

While we didn't find Watervale in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Watervale.

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

  • Arcadia
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Frankfort
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Pleasanton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Pleasanton is located in Manistee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasanton
  • Weldon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Weldon is located in Benzie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weldon
  • Benzonia
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Pierport
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Pierport is located in Manistee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierport
  • Bear Lake
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Edgewater
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Edgewater is located in Benzie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater
  • Onekama
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Thompsonville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Onekama Junction
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Onekama Junction is located in Manistee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onekama Junction
  • Chief Lake
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Chief Lake is located in Manistee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chief Lake
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Copemish
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Nessen City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Nessen City is located in Benzie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nessen City
    • Pomona
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Pomona is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona

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

Newspapers Published in Watervale ...

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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Watervale.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Watervale, 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 Watervale.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Watervale:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Watervale) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Watervale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.