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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Wenona. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Wenona to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Wenona, please Contact Us.

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 Wenona (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 Wenona. 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.

Name Variations for Wenona ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

Wenona was originally named Lake City

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Wenona is historic, it would have been located within present day Bay 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 Bay County: Arenac, Gladwin, Midland, Saginaw & Tuscola.

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

  • Bay County     (The home county of Wenona)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wenona, with the one closest to Wenona listed first.
    • Bay City
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • West Bay City
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for West Bay City. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bay City
      • West Bay City is located in Bay County
      • West Bay City has also been known as:
      • West Bank City
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to West Bay City
      • From Wenona to West Bay City
    • Salzburg ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Salzburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salzburg
      • Salzburg is located in Bay County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Salzburg
      • From Wenona to Salzburg
    • Banks ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Banks. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks
      • Banks is located in Bay County
      • Banks has also been known as:
      • Bangor
      • Bank City
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Banks
      • From Wenona to Banks
    • Brooks ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brooks. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
      • Brooks is located in Bay County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Brooks
      • From Wenona to Brooks
    • Essexville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Essexville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essexville
      • Essexville is located in Bay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,244 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Essexville <2>
    • Wenona Beach ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Kawkawlin
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Frankenlust
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Amelith
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Brissette Beach
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Auburn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Arenac County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wenona, with the one closest to Wenona listed first.
    • Saganing
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Whites Beach
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Pine River
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pine River. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine River
      • Pine River is located in Arenac County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pine River
      • From Wenona to Pine River
    • Standish
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Standish have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standish
      • Standish is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,388 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Standish <2>
    • Arenac
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arenac. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arenac
      • Arenac is located in Arenac County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Arenac
      • From Wenona to Arenac
    • Omer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Omer have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omer
      • Omer is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
    • Sterling
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sterling have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
      • Sterling is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sterling <2>
  • Genesee County
  • Gladwin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wenona, with the one closest to Wenona listed first.
    • Rhodes
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Highwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Gratiot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wenona, with the one closest to Wenona listed first.
    • North Wheeler
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Wheeler have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wheeler
      • North Wheeler is located in Gratiot County
    • Wheeler
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheeler have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
      • Wheeler is located in Gratiot County
  • Huron County
  • Midland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wenona, with the one closest to Wenona listed first.
    • Midland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Averill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Averill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Averill
      • Averill is located in Midland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Averill
      • From Wenona to Averill
    • Hope
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
      • Hope is located in Midland County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hope <2>
    • Ryan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ryan have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan
      • Ryan is located in Midland County
    • Sanford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Edenville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edenville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edenville
      • Edenville is located in Midland County
    • Porter
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Redstone
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • North Bradley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Saginaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wenona, with the one closest to Wenona listed first.
    • Melbourne ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Melbourne. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbourne
      • Melbourne is located in Saginaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Melbourne
      • From Wenona to Melbourne
    • Kochville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Zilwaukee city
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zilwaukee city. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zilwaukee city
      • Zilwaukee city is located in Saginaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,517 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zilwaukee city
      • From Wenona to Zilwaukee city
    • Carrollton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Crow Island ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crow Island have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow Island
      • Crow Island is located in Saginaw County
    • Buena Vista
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Buena Vista. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
      • Buena Vista is located in Saginaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Buena Vista
      • From Wenona to Buena Vista
    • Saginaw
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Freeland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeland have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeland
      • Freeland is located in Saginaw County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeland <2>
    • Dice
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Reese
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reese have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reese
      • Reese is located in Saginaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,366 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reese <2>
    • Frost
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Frost. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
      • Frost is located in Saginaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Frost
      • From Wenona to Frost
    • Shields
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shields. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shields
      • Shields is located in Saginaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Shields
      • From Wenona to Shields
  • Tuscola County

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

Cemeteries Near Wenona ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wenona.

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

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

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.

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

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

  • Bay City
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Salzburg ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Salzburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salzburg
    • Salzburg is located in Bay County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Salzburg
    • From Wenona to Salzburg
  • Brooks ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brooks. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
    • Brooks is located in Bay County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Brooks
    • From Wenona to Brooks
  • Banks ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Banks. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks
    • Banks is located in Bay County
    • Banks has also been known as:
    • Bangor
    • Bank City
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Banks
    • From Wenona to Banks
  • Essexville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Essexville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essexville
    • Essexville is located in Bay County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,244 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Essexville <2>
  • Kawkawlin
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Wenona Beach ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Frankenlust
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Melbourne ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Melbourne. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbourne
    • Melbourne is located in Saginaw County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Melbourne
    • From Wenona to Melbourne
  • Zilwaukee city
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zilwaukee city. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zilwaukee city
    • Zilwaukee city is located in Saginaw County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,517 people
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Zilwaukee city
    • From Wenona to Zilwaukee city
  • Munger
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Munger have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munger
    • Munger is located in Bay County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Munger <2>
  • Auburn
    (8 miles [12.9 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 Wenona. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wenona.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Wenona ...

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 Wenona.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Wenona. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Wenona and those printed in the larger area surrounding Wenona.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<6> of Wenona.

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 websites either 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 Wenona:

The official website for Bay County: www.co.bay.mi.us/

The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Wenona, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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.
<5>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.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Wenona) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wenona. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.6020, Longitude: -83.9052    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025