RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Michigan >> Kent County >> Whitneyville >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Whitneyville (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 Whitneyville. 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 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.

Whitneyville is located in Kent County.

To see how the shape of Michigan's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Kent County: Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo & Ottawa.

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

  • Kent County     (The home county of Whitneyville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitneyville, with the one closest to Whitneyville listed first.
    • Alto
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Ada
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Forest Hills
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Forest Hills is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
    • Segwun
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Segwun is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Segwun
    • Caledonia
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Dutton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Dutton is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutton
    • Kentwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Lowell
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • East Grand Rapids
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Cutlerville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Carlisle
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Carlisle is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
    • Clyde Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Clyde Park is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde Park
    • Burlingame
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Burlingame is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
  • Allegan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitneyville, with the one closest to Whitneyville listed first.
    • Moline
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Moline is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moline
    • Dorr
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Wayland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bradley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Bradley is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
    • Hilliards
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Hilliards is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilliards
    • New Salem
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • New Salem is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
    • Burnips
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Burnips is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnips
      • Former name for Burnips:
      • Burnip's Corners
    • Shelbyville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hopkins
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Martin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Hooper
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Hooper is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooper
    • Diamond Springs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Diamond Springs is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Springs
    • Neeley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Neeley is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neeley
  • Barry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitneyville, with the one closest to Whitneyville listed first.
    • Middleville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Freeport
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Irving
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Irving is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
    • Hastings
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Woodland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Woodland is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 449 people
    • Morgan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Morgan is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
    • Cloverdale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Cloverdale is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
    • Cedar Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Cedar Creek is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek
    • Delton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Prairieville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Prairieville is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
    • Dowling
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Dowling is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowling
    • Nashville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Maple Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Maple Grove is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
  • Eaton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitneyville, with the one closest to Whitneyville listed first.
    • Woodbury
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Woodbury is located in Eaton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbury
    • Sunfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Vermontville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Little Venice
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Little Venice is located in Eaton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Venice
    • Mulliken
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Ionia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitneyville, with the one closest to Whitneyville listed first.
    • Elmdale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Elmdale is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
    • Clarksville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Campbell Corners
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Campbell Corners is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Corners
    • Saranac
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Smyrna
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Odessa
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Belding
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • South Ionia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • South Ionia is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ionia
    • West Sebewa
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • West Sebewa is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Sebewa
    • Ionia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Orleans
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Orleans is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
    • Woods Corners
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Woods Corners is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Corners
    • Shiloh
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Shiloh is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
  • Montcalm County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitneyville, with the one closest to Whitneyville listed first.
    • Greenville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Eureka Place
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Eureka Place is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Place
    • Amsden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Amsden is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsden
    • Gowen
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Fenwick
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Fenwick is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenwick
    • Pierson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Trufant
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Sheridan
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Sidney
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Ottawa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitneyville, with the one closest to Whitneyville listed first.
    • Jenison
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Jamestown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Jamestown is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
    • Hudsonville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Marne
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Forest Grove Station
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Forest Grove Station is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove Station
    • Forest Grove
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Forest Grove is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove
    • Bauer
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Bauer is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauer
    • South Blendon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • South Blendon is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Blendon
    • Wright
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Wright is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
    • Lamont
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Lamont is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
    • Allendale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Drenthe
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Drenthe is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenthe
    • Conklin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Whitneyville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Whitneyville.

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.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Whitneyville - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Whitneyville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Whitneyville Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Alaska Memorial Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Little Cook Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Snow Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Merriman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Cascade Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Daniels Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Rolfe Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Holy Corners Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Barber Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • St. Patrick's Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (305 more) ...
    • Teeple Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Dutton Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)

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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Whitneyville had a population of 48 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Alaska
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Alaska is located in Kent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
  • Cascade
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cascade is located in Kent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
  • Labarge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Labarge is located in Kent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Labarge
  • Alto
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Ada
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Dutton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Dutton is located in Kent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutton
  • East Paris
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • East Paris is located in Kent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Paris
  • Elmdale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Elmdale is located in Ionia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
  • Lowell
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Middleville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Freeport
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Fallassburg
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Fallassburg is located in Kent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallassburg
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Carlisle
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Carlisle is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
    • Clarksville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Alton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Alton is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton

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

Newspapers Published in Whitneyville ...

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 261 newspapers that have been published in the area around Whitneyville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Whitneyville, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Whitneyville.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Whitneyville:

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 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.
<3>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 Whitneyville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Whitneyville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.