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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 Tappan (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 Tappan. 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 Tappan ...

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 Tappan: W. Tappan

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 Tappan is located in Saint Clair 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 Saint Clair County: Lapeer, Macomb & Sanilac.

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

  • Saint Clair County     (The home county of West Tappan)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Tappan, with the one closest to West Tappan listed first.
    • Sparlingville
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparlingville
      • Sparlingville is located in Saint Clair County
    • Wadhams
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wadhams have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadhams
      • Wadhams is located in Saint Clair County
    • Fort Gratiot ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Port Huron
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Gardendale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gardendale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardendale
      • Gardendale is located in Saint Clair County
    • Ruby
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
      • Ruby is located in Saint Clair County
    • Marysville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Smiths Creek
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Atkins
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atkins have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
      • Atkins is located in Saint Clair County
    • North Street
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Goodells
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goodells have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodells
      • Goodells is located in Saint Clair County
    • Columbus
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Columbus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
      • Columbus is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Columbus <2>
  • Lapeer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Tappan, with the one closest to West Tappan listed first.
    • Almont
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Almont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almont
      • Almont is located in Lapeer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,815 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Almont <2>
    • Imlay City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Imlay City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imlay City
      • Imlay City is located in Lapeer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,585 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Imlay City <2>
    • Brown City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Dryden
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dryden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dryden
      • Dryden is located in Lapeer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 938 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dryden <2>
  • Macomb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Tappan, with the one closest to West Tappan listed first.
    • Memphis
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Memphis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memphis
      • Memphis is located in Macomb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,170 people
      • Former name for Memphis:
      • Well's Settlement
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Memphis <2>
    • Bates Corner ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bates Corner. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bates Corner
      • Bates Corner is located in Macomb County
    • Beebe's Corners ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Beebe's Corners. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beebe's Corners
      • Beebe's Corners is located in Macomb County
    • Coopertown ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Coopertown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopertown
      • Coopertown is located in Macomb County
    • Muttonville ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Muttonville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muttonville
      • Muttonville is located in Macomb County
    • Richmond
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richmond have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
      • Richmond is located in Macomb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,800 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richmond <2>
    • Doyle ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Doyle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyle
      • Doyle is located in Macomb County
    • Armada
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armada
      • Armada is located in Macomb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,698 people
      • Former names for Armada:
      • Burk's Corners
      • Honeyoe
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Armada <2>
    • Berry's Corners ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berry's Corners. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berry's Corners
      • Berry's Corners is located in Macomb County
    • New Haven
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Haven have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Haven
      • New Haven is located in Macomb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,061 people
      • Former names for New Haven:
      • New Baltimore Station
      • New Haven Station
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Haven <2>
    • Omo ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Omo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omo
      • Omo is located in Macomb County
    • New Baltimore
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Baltimore
      • New Baltimore is located in Macomb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,281 people
      • Former names for New Baltimore:
      • Ashley
      • Ashleyville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Baltimore <2>
  • Sanilac County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Tappan, with the one closest to West Tappan listed first.
    • Amadore ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amadore
      • Amadore is located in Sanilac County
    • Lexington Heights
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington Heights
      • Lexington Heights is located in Sanilac County
    • Lexington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Speaker
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speaker
      • Speaker is located in Sanilac County
    • Croswell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Croswell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croswell
      • Croswell is located in Sanilac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,253 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Croswell <2>
    • Melvin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Melvin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
      • Melvin is located in Sanilac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
    • Peck
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peck
      • Peck is located in Sanilac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 588 people
    • Valley Center
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Center
      • Valley Center is located in Sanilac County
    • Applegate
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Cash
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cash have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash
      • Cash is located in Sanilac County
    • Watertown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watertown
      • Watertown is located in Sanilac County

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

Newspapers Published in West Tappan ...

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 70 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Tappan.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Tappan, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Tappan.

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 helpful 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 Tappan:

Cemeteries Near West Tappan ...

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

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

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

  • Moore Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Moore Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • The Moore Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Kimball Cemetery
    • Kimball Twp. Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moore Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2331833 <5>
  • Kinney Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Caswell Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Bartlett Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bartlett Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bartlett Cemetery
  • Woodland Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Mallory Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the St. Marys Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • The St. Marys Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Irish Cemetery
    • St. Rose Catholic Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1671 <5>
  • Smith Blackstock Road Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Isabella Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Isabella Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Isabella Cemetery
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Pinewood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pinewood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pinewood Cemetery
  • Continue List   (200 more) ...
    • Ruby Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Sunset Memorial Gardens
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Goodells Poor Farm Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Goodells Poor Farm Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • The Goodells Poor Farm Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Wales Center Cemetery
      • Wales Twp. Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Goodells Poor Farm Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2235719 <5>

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>

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

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

  • Kimball
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kimball have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimball
    • Kimball is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kimball <2>
  • Wadhams
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wadhams have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadhams
    • Wadhams is located in Saint Clair County
  • Thornton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thornton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton
    • Thornton is located in Saint Clair County
  • Smiths Creek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Marysville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Port Huron
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Fort Gratiot ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Ruby
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
    • Ruby is located in Saint Clair County
  • Abbotsford
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Abbotsford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbotsford
    • Abbotsford is located in Saint Clair County
  • Atkins
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atkins have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
    • Atkins is located in Saint Clair County
  • North Street
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Goodells
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goodells have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodells
    • Goodells is located in Saint Clair County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Rattle Run
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rattle Run have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rattle Run
      • Rattle Run is located in Saint Clair County
    • Lambs
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambs
      • Lambs is located in Saint Clair County
      • Lambs has also been known as:
      • Lamb
    • Columbus
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Columbus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
      • Columbus is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Columbus <2>

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

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

The official website for Saint Clair County: www.stclaircounty.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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>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 Tappan) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Tappan. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.9703, Longitude: -82.5433       In this case, the coordinates for West Tappan 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 Tappan, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024