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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 Wilder Center (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 Wilder Center. 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 Wilder Center ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Wilder Center: Wilder Ctr. (or less commonly used: Wilder Cen., Wilder Cent. or Wilder Cntr.)

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 southwest 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 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.

Wilder Center 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 Wilder Center. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wilder Center:

  • Kent County     (The home county of Wilder Center)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilder Center, with the one closest to Wilder Center listed first.
    • Kinney
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Kinney is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinney
    • Comstock Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Walker
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Grand Rapids
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Northview
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Northview is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northview
    • Belmont
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Beverly
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Beverly is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
    • Galewood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Galewood is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galewood
    • Urbandale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Urbandale is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbandale
    • Burlingame Heights
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Burlingame Heights is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame Heights
    • Burlingame
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Burlingame is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
    • Clyde Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Clyde Park is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde Park
  • Allegan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilder Center, with the one closest to Wilder Center listed first.
    • New Salem
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • New Salem is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
    • Moline
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Moline is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moline
    • Burnips
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Burnips is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnips
      • Former name for Burnips:
      • Burnip's Corners
    • Dorr
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Hilliards
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Hilliards is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilliards
    • Diamond Springs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Diamond Springs is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Springs
    • Wayland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Fillmore
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Fillmore is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
    • Bradley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Bradley is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
    • Hopkins
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Boyd
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Boyd is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
    • Graafschap
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Graafschap is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graafschap
  • Barry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilder Center, with the one closest to Wilder Center listed first.
    • Middleville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Freeport
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Irving
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Irving is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
  • Ionia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilder Center, with the one closest to Wilder Center listed first.
    • Smyrna
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Elmdale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Elmdale is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
    • Belding
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Saranac
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Clarksville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Campbell Corners
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Campbell Corners is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Corners
    • Orleans
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Orleans is located in Ionia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
  • Montcalm County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilder Center, with the one closest to Wilder Center listed first.
    • Pierson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Gowen
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Greenville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Trufant
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Coral
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Eureka Place
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Eureka Place is located in Montcalm County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Place
    • Howard City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Muskegon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilder Center, with the one closest to Wilder Center listed first.
    • Canada Corners
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Canada Corners is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Corners
    • Ravenna
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Slocum
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Slocum is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slocum
    • Bailey
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Morgan Corners
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Morgan Corners is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Corners
    • Sullivan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Sullivan is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
    • Fruitport
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Wolf Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Wolf Lake is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
    • Norton Shores
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Muskegon Heights
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Muskegon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Roosevelt Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Newaygo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilder Center, with the one closest to Wilder Center listed first.
    • Ashland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Ashland is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
    • Sun
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Sun is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun
    • Grant
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Bridgeton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Bridgeton is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
    • Newaygo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Bishop
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Bishop is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
    • Croton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Croton is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croton
    • Sitka
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Sitka is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
    • Riverview
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Riverview is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
    • Brookside
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Brookside is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
  • Ottawa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilder Center, with the one closest to Wilder Center listed first.
    • Marne
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Wright
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Wright is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
    • Lamont
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Lamont is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
    • Jenison
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Conklin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Coopersville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Bauer
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bauer is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauer
    • Allendale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Eastmanville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Eastmanville is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastmanville
    • Hudsonville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • South Blendon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • South Blendon is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Blendon
    • Jamestown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Jamestown is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown

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

Cemeteries Near Wilder Center ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wilder Center.

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 Wilder Center - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Brooklawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • White Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Blood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • St.s Peter and Paul Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St.s Peter and Paul Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St.s Peter and Paul Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Grand Rapids.
    • The St.s Peter and Paul Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St.s Peter - Paul Lithuanian Catholic Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1961493 <2>
  • Washington Park Memorial Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Park Memorial Gardens
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Washington Park Memorial Gardens is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Grand Rapids.
    • The Washington Park Memorial Gardens has also been known as:
    • Washington Park Cemetery
    • Washington Park Memorial Garden
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1907 <2>
  • Ahavas Israel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ahavas Israel Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Ahavas Israel Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Grand Rapids.
    • The Ahavas Israel Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Achim Cemetery
    • Ahavis Achim Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #3 <2>
  • Lithuanian Freedom Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithuanian Freedom Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Lithuanian Freedom Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Grand Rapids.
    • The Lithuanian Freedom Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Freedom Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2166861 <2>
  • St.s Peter & Paul's Lithuanian Catholic Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Holy Trinity Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Alpine Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Grand Rapids.
    • The Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1123 <2>
  • Continue List   (285 more) ...
    • Greenwood Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Greenwood Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Grand Rapids.
    • Cross Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Grand Rapids Veterans Home Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)

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>

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

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

  • Kinney
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Kinney is located in Kent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinney
  • Alpine
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Alpine is located in Kent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
  • Tallmadge
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Tallmadge is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallmadge
  • Grand Rapids
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Herrington
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Herrington is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrington
  • Belmont
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Englishville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Englishville is located in Kent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Englishville
  • Wright
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Wright is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
  • Reno
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Reno is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
  • Grandville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Lisbon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Lisbon is located in Kent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
  • Lamont
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Lamont is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Jenison
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Chauncey
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Chauncey is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chauncey
    • Sparta
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Wilder Center ...

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 250 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wilder Center.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wilder Center, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wilder Center.

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 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 Wilder Center:

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 Wilder Center, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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- Wilder Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.