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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 Whites Beach (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 Whites Beach. 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 Whites Beach ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Whites Beach: Whites Bch.
  • While the name of this community is Whites Beach, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Whites Beach may originally have been White's Beach.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Whites Beach might be written as White Beach.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Whites Beach is located in Arenac 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 Arenac County: Bay, Gladwin, Iosco & Ogemaw.

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

  • Arenac County     (The home county of Whites Beach)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whites Beach, with the one closest to Whites Beach listed first.
    • Saganing
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Pine River
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Arenac
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arenac. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arenac
      • Arenac is located in Arenac County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Arenac
      • From Whites Beach to Arenac
    • Standish
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Standish have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standish
      • Standish is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,388 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Standish <4>
    • Omer
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Omer have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omer
      • Omer is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
    • Sterling
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sterling have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
      • Sterling is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sterling <4>
    • Au Gres
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Twining
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twining have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twining
      • Twining is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
    • Melita
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Melita. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melita
      • Melita is located in Arenac County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Melita
      • From Whites Beach to Melita
    • Maple Ridge
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Turner
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • 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 Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
    • Harmon City Heights
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harmon City Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmon City Heights
      • Harmon City Heights is located in Arenac County
  • Bay County
  • Gladwin County
  • Huron County
  • Iosco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whites Beach, with the one closest to Whites Beach listed first.
    • Whittemore
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whittemore have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittemore
      • Whittemore is located in Iosco County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 375 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whittemore <4>
    • National City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for National City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for National City
      • National City is located in Iosco County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for National City <4>
    • White Rock ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Tawas City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Midland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whites Beach, with the one closest to Whites Beach listed first.
    • Hope
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
      • Hope is located in Midland County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hope <4>
    • Edenville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edenville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edenville
      • Edenville is located in Midland County
    • Midland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Averill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Averill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Averill
      • Averill is located in Midland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Averill
      • From Whites Beach to Averill
    • Sanford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Ogemaw County
  • Saginaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whites Beach, with the one closest to Whites Beach listed first.
    • Melbourne ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Melbourne. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbourne
      • Melbourne is located in Saginaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Melbourne
      • From Whites Beach to Melbourne
    • Kochville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Freeland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeland
      • Freeland is located in Saginaw County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeland <4>
  • Tuscola County

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

Cemeteries Near Whites Beach ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Whites Beach.

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

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

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

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

  • Worth
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Worth have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worth
    • Worth is located in Arenac County
  • Arenac
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arenac. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arenac
    • Arenac is located in Arenac County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Arenac
    • From Whites Beach to Arenac
  • Standish
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Standish have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standish
    • Standish is located in Arenac County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,388 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Standish <4>
  • Pinconning
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinconning have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinconning
    • Pinconning is located in Bay County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pinconning <4>
  • Omer
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Omer have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omer
    • Omer is located in Arenac County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
  • Nine Mile
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Sterling
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sterling have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
    • Sterling is located in Arenac County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sterling <4>
  • Mount Forest
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Au Gres
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Linwood
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Melita
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Melita. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melita
    • Melita is located in Arenac County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Melita
    • From Whites Beach to Melita
  • Maple Ridge
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Whites Beach ...

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 120 newspapers that have been published in the area around Whites Beach.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Whites Beach, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<7>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Whites Beach.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Whites Beach:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Whites Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Whites Beach) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Whites Beach. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.9287, Longitude: -83.8915    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025