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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 Wildwood (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 Wildwood. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.

Wildwood is located in Van Buren 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 Van Buren County: Allegan, Berrien, Cass, Kalamazoo & Saint Joseph.

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

  • Van Buren County     (The home county of Wildwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • South Haven
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Covert
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Kibbie
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibbie
      • Kibbie is located in Van Buren County
    • Fish Corners
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Corners
      • Fish Corners is located in Van Buren County
    • Lacota
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacota
      • Lacota is located in Van Buren County
    • Bangor
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
      • Bangor is located in Van Buren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,808 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bangor <1>
    • Bloomingdale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Breedsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Grand Junction
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Hartford
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Lawrence
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Glendale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
      • Glendale is located in Van Buren County
    • Gobles
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Allegan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Mount Pleasant
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Allegan County
    • South Haven Highlands
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Miami Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miami Park
      • Miami Park is located in Allegan County
      • Miami Park has also been known as:
      • Miami Park Beach
      • Miomi Park Beach
    • Cedar Bluff
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Bluff
      • Cedar Bluff is located in Allegan County
    • Hawkhead
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkhead
      • Hawkhead is located in Allegan County
    • Glenn Haven Shores
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Haven Shores
      • Glenn Haven Shores is located in Allegan County
      • Glenn Haven Shores has also been known as:
      • Hollywood
    • Glenn Shores
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Shores
      • Glenn Shores is located in Allegan County
      • Glenn Shores has also been known as:
      • Glenn Stores
    • Leisure
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure
      • Leisure is located in Allegan County
      • Leisure has also been known as:
      • East Casco
    • Glenn
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Spring Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
      • Spring Grove is located in Allegan County
    • Pullman
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pullman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pullman
      • Pullman is located in Allegan County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pullman <1>
    • Ganges
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ganges
      • Ganges is located in Allegan County
    • Fennville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Berrien County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Lake Michigan Beach
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Michigan Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Michigan Beach
      • Lake Michigan Beach is located in Berrien County
    • Paw Paw Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paw Paw Lake
      • Paw Paw Lake is located in Berrien County
    • Coloma
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coloma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
      • Coloma is located in Berrien County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,402 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coloma <1>
    • Watervliet
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Riverside
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverside have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
      • Riverside is located in Berrien County
    • Mizpah Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mizpah Park
      • Mizpah Park is located in Berrien County
    • Benton Heights
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benton Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton Heights
      • Benton Heights is located in Berrien County
    • Benton Harbor
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Fair Plain
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fair Plain have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Plain
      • Fair Plain is located in Berrien County
    • Saint Joseph
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Sodus
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sodus have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sodus
      • Sodus is located in Berrien County
    • Scottdale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottdale
      • Scottdale is located in Berrien County
    • Shanghai Corners
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanghai Corners
      • Shanghai Corners is located in Berrien County
  • Cass County
    • Dowagiac
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Kalamazoo County
    • Alamo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamo
      • Alamo is located in Kalamazoo County
  • Ottawa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Macatawa
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Beechwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beechwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood
      • Beechwood is located in Ottawa County
    • Holland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Wildwood ...

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 139 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wildwood.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wildwood, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wildwood.

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 Wildwood:

Cemeteries Near Wildwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wildwood.

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

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

  • Hebrew Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hebrew Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hebrew Cemetery
  • Lakeview Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Covert Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Chambers Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Fish Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fish Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fish Cemetery
  • Thomas Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Stephenson Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stephenson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stephenson Cemetery
  • McDowell Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McDowell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McDowell Cemetery
  • Emmanuel Home Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Emmanuel Home Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Emmanuel Home Cemetery
  • Monk Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Monk Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Monk Cemetery
  • Lacota Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lacota Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lacota Cemetery
  • Van Auken Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Van Auken Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Van Auken Cemetery
  • Continue List   (159 more) ...
    • Taylor Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Taylor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Taylor Cemetery
    • Harris Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harris Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harris Cemetery
    • Rush Lake Catholic Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rush Lake Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rush Lake Catholic Cemetery

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>

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

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

  • South Haven
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Covert
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Kibbie
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibbie
    • Kibbie is located in Van Buren County
  • Toquin
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toquin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toquin
    • Toquin is located in Van Buren County
  • Hawkhead
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkhead
    • Hawkhead is located in Allegan County
  • McDonald
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McDonald have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDonald
    • McDonald is located in Van Buren County
  • Lacota
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacota
    • Lacota is located in Van Buren County
  • Bangor
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
    • Bangor is located in Van Buren County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,808 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bangor <1>
  • Breedsville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Bloomingdale
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Grand Junction
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Lee
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
    • Lee is located in Allegan County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Spring Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
      • Spring Grove is located in Allegan County
    • Glenn
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Coloma
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coloma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
      • Coloma is located in Berrien County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,402 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coloma <1>

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

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

The official website for Van Buren County: www.vbco.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>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- Wildwood) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wildwood. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3664, Longitude: -86.2948       In this case, the coordinates for Wildwood have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Wildwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024