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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 Ishpeming (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 Ishpeming. 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 Ishpeming ...

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.

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

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 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.

West Ishpeming is located in Marquette 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 Marquette County: Alger, Baraga, Delta, Dickinson, Iron & Menominee.

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

  • Marquette County     (The home county of West Ishpeming)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Ishpeming, with the one closest to West Ishpeming listed first.
    • North Lake
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lake
      • North Lake is located in Marquette County
    • Salisbury
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
      • Salisbury is located in Marquette County
    • Ishpeming
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Lake Angeline
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Angeline
      • Lake Angeline is located in Marquette County
    • Barnes - Hecker Mine ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Barnes - Hecker Mine. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes - Hecker Mine
      • Barnes - Hecker Mine is located in Marquette County
    • National Mine
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for National Mine have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for National Mine
      • National Mine is located in Marquette County
    • Greenwood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
      • Greenwood is located in Marquette County
    • South Greenwood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Greenwood
      • South Greenwood is located in Marquette County
      • South Greenwood has also been known as:
      • Greenwood Station
    • Negaunee
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Diorite
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diorite
      • Diorite is located in Marquette County
      • Diorite has also been known as:
      • Diotrite
    • Palmer
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
      • Palmer is located in Marquette County
    • Clarksburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksburg
      • Clarksburg is located in Marquette County
    • Humboldt
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humboldt
      • Humboldt is located in Marquette County
  • Baraga County
    • Nestoria
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nestoria
      • Nestoria is located in Baraga County
  • Dickinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Ishpeming, with the one closest to West Ishpeming listed first.
    • Turner
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner
      • Turner is located in Dickinson County
    • Ralph
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Channing
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in West Ishpeming ...

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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Ishpeming.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Ishpeming, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Ishpeming.

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 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 West Ishpeming:

Cemeteries Near West Ishpeming ...

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

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

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

  • Ishpeming Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Clarksburg Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Negaunee Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Northland Chapel Gardens
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • The Northland Chapel Gardens has also been known as:
    • Northland Chapel Garden Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Northland Chapel Gardens
  • Humboldt Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • St. Johns Catholic Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Republic Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Republic Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Republic.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Republic Cemetery
  • Bakkala Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Old Catholic Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Catholic Cemetery
  • Sands Twp. Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Park Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • The Park Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Marquette Park Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Park Cemetery
  • Continue List   (13 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, West Ishpeming had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Winthrop Junction
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winthrop Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winthrop Junction
    • Winthrop Junction is located in Marquette County
  • National Mine
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for National Mine have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for National Mine
    • National Mine is located in Marquette County
  • Ishpeming
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Greenwood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
    • Greenwood is located in Marquette County
  • Negaunee
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Diorite
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diorite
    • Diorite is located in Marquette County
    • Diorite has also been known as:
    • Diotrite
  • Palmer
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
    • Palmer is located in Marquette County
  • Clarksburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksburg
    • Clarksburg is located in Marquette County
  • Eagle Mills
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Mills
    • Eagle Mills is located in Marquette County
  • Humboldt
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humboldt
    • Humboldt is located in Marquette County
  • Clowry
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clowry have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clowry
    • Clowry is located in Marquette County
  • Champion
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Republic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Republic
      • Republic is located in Marquette County
    • Beacon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beacon
      • Beacon is located in Marquette County
    • Sands
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sands
      • Sands is located in Marquette County

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

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

The official website for Marquette County: www.co.marquette.mi.us/

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

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>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.
<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>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- West Ishpeming) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Ishpeming. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.4856, Longitude: -87.7133       In this case, the coordinates for West Ishpeming have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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>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 Ishpeming, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024