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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 West Bangor (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 West Bangor. 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 West Bangor ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for West Bangor: W. Bangor

You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Bangor. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Bangor.

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 northwest 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 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.

West Bangor is located in Van Buren 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 Van Buren County: Allegan, Berrien, Cass, Kalamazoo & Saint Joseph.

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

  • Van Buren County     (The home county of West Bangor)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Bangor, with the one closest to West Bangor listed first.
    • Bangor
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Bangor is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,808 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bangor <1>
    • Covert
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Breedsville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Fish Corners
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Fish Corners is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Corners
    • Kibbie
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Kibbie is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibbie
    • Lacota
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Lacota is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacota
    • South Haven
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Hartford
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Bloomingdale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Grand Junction
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Lawrence
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Glendale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Glendale is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
  • Allegan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Bangor, with the one closest to West Bangor listed first.
    • Mount Pleasant
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
    • South Haven Highlands
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Hawkhead
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Hawkhead is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkhead
    • Leisure
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Leisure is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure
      • Leisure has also been known as:
      • East Casco
    • Miami Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Miami Park is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miami Park
      • Miami Park has also been known as:
      • Miami Park Beach
      • Miomi Park Beach
    • Cedar Bluff
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Cedar Bluff is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Bluff
    • Glenn Haven Shores
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Glenn Haven Shores is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Haven Shores
      • Glenn Haven Shores has also been known as:
      • Hollywood
    • Glenn Shores
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Glenn Shores is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Shores
      • Glenn Shores has also been known as:
      • Glenn Stores
    • Pullman
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Spring Grove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Spring Grove is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
    • Glenn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Ganges
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Ganges is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ganges
  • Berrien County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Bangor, with the one closest to West Bangor listed first.
    • Paw Paw Lake
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Paw Paw Lake is located in Berrien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paw Paw Lake
    • Watervliet
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Coloma
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake Michigan Beach
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake Michigan Beach is located in Berrien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Michigan Beach
    • Riverside
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Riverside is located in Berrien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
    • Twelve Corners
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Twelve Corners is located in Berrien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twelve Corners
    • Benton Heights
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Benton Heights is located in Berrien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton Heights
    • Mizpah Park
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Mizpah Park is located in Berrien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mizpah Park
    • Naomi
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Naomi is located in Berrien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naomi
    • Benton Harbor
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Shanghai Corners
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Shanghai Corners is located in Berrien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanghai Corners
    • Fair Plain
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Fair Plain is located in Berrien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Plain
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Bangor, with the one closest to West Bangor listed first.
    • Dowagiac
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • La Grange
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • La Grange is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Grange
    • Pokagon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Pokagon is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pokagon
    • Sumnerville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Sumnerville is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumnerville
    • Marcellus
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Penn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Penn is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn
    • Wakelee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Wakelee is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakelee
    • Cassopolis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Vandalia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Vandalia is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
  • Kalamazoo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Bangor, with the one closest to West Bangor listed first.
    • Alamo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Alamo is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamo
    • Oshtemo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Westwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Westwood is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
    • Kalamazoo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Saint Joseph County
    • Chamberlain
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Chamberlain is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamberlain

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

Cemeteries Near West Bangor ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Bangor.

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 West Bangor - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Thomas Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Taylor Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Covert Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Van Auken Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Monk Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Arlington Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Emmanuel Home Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Rush Lake Catholic Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Southard Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Hoppin Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Fish Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Coburn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (203 more) ...

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

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

  • Covert
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Toquin
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Toquin is located in Van Buren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toquin
  • McDonald
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • McDonald is located in Van Buren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDonald
  • Bangor
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Bangor is located in Van Buren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,808 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bangor <1>
  • Breedsville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Kibbie
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Kibbie is located in Van Buren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibbie
  • Hartford
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Lacota
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Lacota is located in Van Buren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacota
  • South Haven
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Bloomingdale
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Grand Junction
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Watervliet
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Lawrence
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Coloma
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Glendale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Glendale is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale

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

Newspapers Published in West Bangor ...

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 134 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Bangor.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Bangor, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Bangor.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 West Bangor:

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 West Bangor, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- West Bangor) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.