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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 Watton (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 Watton. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Watton is located in Baraga 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 Baraga County: Houghton, Iron & Marquette.

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

  • Baraga County     (The home county of Watton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Watton, with the one closest to Watton listed first.
    • Covington
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Vermilac
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Vermilac is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermilac
    • Alberta
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Alberta is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
    • Nestoria
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Nestoria is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nestoria
    • L'Anse
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Baraga
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Bear Town
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Bear Town is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Town
    • Pelkie
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Keweenaw Bay
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Keweenaw Bay is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keweenaw Bay
    • Pequaming
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Pequaming is located in Baraga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pequaming
    • Skanee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Gogebic County
    • Fuller
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Fuller is located in Gogebic County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
  • Houghton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Watton, with the one closest to Watton listed first.
    • Sidnaw
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Kenton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Kenton is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenton
    • Hazel
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Hazel is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel
    • Nisula
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Nisula is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nisula
    • Elo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Elo is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elo
    • Lake Roland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake Roland is located in Houghton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Roland
  • Iron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Watton, with the one closest to Watton listed first.
    • Atkinson ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Atkinson is located in Iron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson
    • Gibbs City ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Gibbs City is located in Iron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibbs City
    • Amasa
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Balsam
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Balsam is located in Iron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balsam
    • Mineral Hills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Mineral Hills is located in Iron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Hills
    • Chicagon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Chicagon is located in Iron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicagon
    • Iron River
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Marquette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Watton, with the one closest to Watton listed first.
    • Michigamme
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Beacon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Beacon is located in Marquette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beacon
    • Champion
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Ontonagon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Watton, with the one closest to Watton listed first.
    • Trout Creek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Rousseau
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Rousseau is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rousseau
    • Agate
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Agate is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agate
    • Wasas
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Wasas is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasas
    • Wainola
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Wainola is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wainola
    • Paynesville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Paynesville is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
    • Gem
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Gem is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gem
    • Mass City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Bruce Crossing
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Greenland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Paulding
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Rockland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Watton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Watton.

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

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

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

  • Covington Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Covington Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Sidnaw Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Kitchie Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Kitchie Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Kenton Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Herman Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Alston Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • L'Anse Twp. Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Pelkie Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • St. Henrys Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Henrys Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Henrys Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Nisula.
    • The St. Henrys Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Nisula Lutheran Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2273104 <2>
  • Trout Creek Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (31 more) ...
    • Baraga Village Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Pinery Indian Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Assinins Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)

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.<3>

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

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

  • Sidnaw
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Vermilac
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Vermilac is located in Baraga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermilac
  • Kenton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Kenton is located in Houghton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenton
  • Nestoria
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Nestoria is located in Baraga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nestoria
  • L'Anse
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Baraga
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Trout Creek
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Pori
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Pori is located in Houghton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pori
  • Atkinson ‑ Historic
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Atkinson is located in Iron County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson
  • Amasa
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Michigamme
    (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
  • Pequaming
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Pequaming is located in Baraga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pequaming
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Paynesville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Paynesville is located in Ontonagon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
    • Tamarack
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Tamarack is located in Gogebic County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamarack
      • Tamarack has also been known as:
      • Tamarack Lake
    • Elmwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Elmwood is located in Iron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood

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

Newspapers Published in Watton ...

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 22 newspapers that have been published in the area around Watton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Watton, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Watton.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Watton:

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>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 Watton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Watton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.