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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 Whitehall (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 Whitehall. 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 Whitehall ...

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.

Another variation: White Hall.

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 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.

Whitehall is located in Muskegon 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 Muskegon County: Kent, Newaygo, Oceana & Ottawa.

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

  • Muskegon County     (The home county of Whitehall)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitehall, with the one closest to Whitehall listed first.
    • Montague
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montague have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montague
      • Montague is located in Muskegon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,365 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Montague <2>
    • Lakewood Club
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakewood Club have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Club
      • Lakewood Club is located in Muskegon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,292 people
    • Sylvan Beach
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Wabaningo
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wabaningo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabaningo
      • Wabaningo is located in Muskegon County
    • Dalton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Twin Lake
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • North Muskegon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Muskegon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Holton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holton
      • Holton is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holton <2>
    • Muskegon Heights
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Roosevelt Park
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Brunswick
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brunswick. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunswick
      • Brunswick is located in Muskegon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Brunswick
      • From Whitehall to Brunswick
    • Wolf Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolf Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
      • Wolf Lake is located in Muskegon County
  • Kent County
    • Casnovia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Casnovia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casnovia
      • Casnovia is located in Kent County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 320 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Casnovia <2>
  • Newaygo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitehall, with the one closest to Whitehall listed first.
    • Reeman
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Sitka
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sitka. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
      • Sitka is located in Newaygo County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sitka
      • From Whitehall to Sitka
    • Brookside
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brookside. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
      • Brookside is located in Newaygo County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Brookside
      • From Whitehall to Brookside
    • Fremont
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fremont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
      • Fremont is located in Newaygo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,102 people
      • Former name for Fremont:
      • Fremont Center
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fremont <2>
    • Bridgeton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Bishop
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Huber
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Aetna
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Wooster
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wooster. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooster
      • Wooster is located in Newaygo County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wooster
      • From Whitehall to Wooster
    • Ashland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ashland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
      • Ashland is located in Newaygo County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ashland
      • From Whitehall to Ashland
    • Grant
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Newaygo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newaygo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newaygo
      • Newaygo is located in Newaygo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,099 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newaygo <2>
    • Ramona
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ramona. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramona
      • Ramona is located in Newaygo County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ramona
      • From Whitehall to Ramona
  • Oceana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitehall, with the one closest to Whitehall listed first.
    • Rothbury
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • New Era
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Era have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Era
      • New Era is located in Oceana County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 440 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Era <2>
    • Camp Claybanks ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Ferry
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Shelby
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Hesperia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hesperia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hesperia
      • Hesperia is located in Oceana County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 936 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hesperia <2>
    • Cobmoosa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cobmoosa. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobmoosa
      • Cobmoosa is located in Oceana County
      • Cobmoosa has also been known as:
      • Cob Moo Sa
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cobmoosa
      • From Whitehall to Cobmoosa
    • Mears
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Elbridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elbridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbridge
      • Elbridge is located in Oceana County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elbridge
      • From Whitehall to Elbridge
    • Hart
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hart have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hart
      • Hart is located in Oceana County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,089 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hart <2>
    • Walkerville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • French Town
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for French Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Town
      • French Town is located in Oceana County
    • Pentwater
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Ottawa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitehall, with the one closest to Whitehall listed first.
    • Ferrysburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ferrysburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferrysburg
      • Ferrysburg is located in Ottawa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,022 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ferrysburg <2>
    • Grand Haven
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Spring Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
      • Spring Lake is located in Ottawa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,504 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring Lake <2>
    • Nunica
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nunica have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunica
      • Nunica is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nunica <2>
    • Conklin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Whitehall ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Whitehall.

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

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

  • Oakhurst Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakhurst Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oakhurst Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles 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.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oakwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sammis Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sammis Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sammis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Sprague Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Sprague Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Sprague Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mouth Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mouth Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mouth Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wave Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wave Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wave Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Duck Lake Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Duck Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Duck Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fruitland Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fruitland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fruitland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hubbard Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hubbard Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hubbard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oakland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oakland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (124 more) ...
    • Assumption Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Assumption Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Assumption Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Oak Grove Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Grove Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Flower Creek Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Flower Creek Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Flower Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Whitehall had a population of 1,903 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Whitehall had a population of 2,863 people.

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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Whitehall ...

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 103 newspapers that have been published in the area around Whitehall.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Whitehall. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Whitehall and those printed in the larger area surrounding Whitehall.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Whitehall.

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 Whitehall:

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

The official website for Muskegon County: www.co.muskegon.mi.us/

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>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 Whitehall, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Whitehall) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Whitehall. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.4060, Longitude: -86.3429    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025