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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 Westphalia (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 Westphalia. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Westphalia is located in Clinton 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 Clinton County: Eaton, Gratiot, Ingham, Ionia, Montcalm, Saginaw & Shiawassee.

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

  • Clinton County     (The home county of Westphalia)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westphalia, with the one closest to Westphalia listed first.
    • Fowler
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Eagle
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • East DeWitt
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Saint Johns
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Johns have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
      • Saint Johns is located in Clinton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,904 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Johns <1>
    • Maple Rapids
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Rapids have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Rapids
      • Maple Rapids is located in Clinton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 671 people
    • De Witt
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Price
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Price. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price
      • Price is located in Clinton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Price
      • From Westphalia to Price
    • Clinton Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clinton Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton Village
      • Clinton Village is located in Clinton County
    • Gunnisonville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Eureka
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eureka have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
      • Eureka is located in Clinton County
    • Shepardsville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Duplain
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Bath
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bath have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
      • Bath is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bath <1>
  • Barry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westphalia, with the one closest to Westphalia listed first.
    • Woodland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Nashville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nashville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville
      • Nashville is located in Barry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,696 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nashville <1>
    • Freeport
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
      • Freeport is located in Barry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 503 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeport <1>
    • Morgan
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Morgan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
      • Morgan is located in Barry County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Morgan
      • From Westphalia to Morgan
  • Eaton County
  • Gratiot County
  • Ingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westphalia, with the one closest to Westphalia listed first.
    • Edgemont Park
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edgemont Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgemont Park
      • Edgemont Park is located in Ingham County
    • North Lansing
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Lansing
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • East Lansing
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Lansing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lansing
      • East Lansing is located in Ingham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47,641 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Lansing <1>
    • Haslett
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haslett have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haslett
      • Haslett is located in Ingham County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haslett <1>
    • Okemos
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Holt
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holt have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt
      • Holt is located in Ingham County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holt <1>
    • Meridian
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Meridian. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
      • Meridian is located in Ingham County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Meridian
      • From Westphalia to Meridian
    • Mason
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mason have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
      • Mason is located in Ingham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,389 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mason <1>
    • Williamston
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Ionia County
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westphalia, with the one closest to Westphalia listed first.
    • Lowell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Segwun
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Alto
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alto have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
      • Alto is located in Kent County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alto <1>
  • Montcalm County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westphalia, with the one closest to Westphalia listed first.
    • Carson City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carson City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson City
      • Carson City is located in Montcalm County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,105 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carson City <1>
    • Butternut
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Vickeryville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Fenwick
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Crystal
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Amsden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Sheridan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Eureka Place
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Sidney
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sidney have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
      • Sidney is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sidney <1>
    • Greenville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
      • Greenville is located in Montcalm County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,386 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenville <1>
    • Stanton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stanton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanton
      • Stanton is located in Montcalm County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,420 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stanton <1>
  • Saginaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westphalia, with the one closest to Westphalia listed first.
    • Chapin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Fenmore
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Shiawassee County

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

Cemeteries Near Westphalia ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westphalia.

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

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

  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Pauls Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Pauls Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Spaulding Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spaulding Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spaulding Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Boughton Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Boughton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Boughton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Peter's Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Ridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pewamo Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pewamo Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pewamo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Most Holy Trinity Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Brown Grave
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brown Grave
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brown Grave have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Portland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • North Eagle Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Eagle Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Eagle Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (247 more) ...
    • Wager Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lyons Twp. Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lyons Twp. Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lyons Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Keefer Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Keefer Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Keefer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Westphalia had a population of 350 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Westphalia had a population of 931 people.

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

  • Pewamo
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Fowler
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Portland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Riley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riley
    • Riley is located in Clinton County
  • Collins
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Collins have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
    • Collins is located in Ionia County
  • Eagle
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Wacousta
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wacousta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wacousta
    • Wacousta is located in Clinton County
  • South Riley
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Riley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Riley
    • South Riley is located in Clinton County
  • Muir
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Lyons
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Matherton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Hubbardston
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hubbardston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbardston
    • Hubbardston is located in Ionia County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 402 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hubbardston <1>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Mulliken
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Grand Ledge
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Ledge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Ledge
      • Grand Ledge is located in Eaton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,881 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grand Ledge <1>
    • Hoytville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hoytville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoytville
      • Hoytville is located in Eaton County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Westphalia ...

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 249 newspapers that have been published in the area around Westphalia.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Westphalia. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Westphalia and those printed in the larger area surrounding Westphalia.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Westphalia.

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 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 Westphalia:

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

The official website for Clinton County: www.clinton-county.org/

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>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.
<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 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.
<5>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 Westphalia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Westphalia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Westphalia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.9293, Longitude: -84.7988    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025