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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 Wiley (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 Wiley. 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 Wiley ...

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.

Wiley has also been known as: Wileys.

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 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.

Wiley is located in Mason 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 Mason County: Lake, Manistee, Newaygo & Oceana.

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

  • Mason County     (The home county of Wiley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wiley, with the one closest to Wiley listed first.
    • Amber
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Scottville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Custer
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Meisenheimer Corners
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Sugar Grove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • White Pine Village ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Elm Flats ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elm Flats. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Flats
      • Elm Flats is located in Mason County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elm Flats
      • From Wiley to Elm Flats
    • Walhalla
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Buttersville ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Ludington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Carr
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carr
      • Carr is located in Mason County
      • Carr has also been known as:
      • Carr Settlement
      • McCumber Settlement
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Carr
      • From Wiley to Carr
    • Batcheller ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Batcheller. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batcheller
      • Batcheller is located in Mason County
      • Batcheller has also been known as:
      • Turtle Lake
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Batcheller
      • From Wiley to Batcheller
    • Tallman
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tallman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallman
      • Tallman is located in Mason County
      • Tallman has also been known as:
      • Weaver
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tallman
      • From Wiley to Tallman
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wiley, with the one closest to Wiley listed first.
    • Sauble
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sauble. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sauble
      • Sauble is located in Lake County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sauble
      • From Wiley to Sauble
    • Baldwin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Marlborough
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Marlborough. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlborough
      • Marlborough is located in Lake County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Marlborough
      • From Wiley to Marlborough
    • Peacock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Idlewild
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Irons
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Nirvana
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Manistee County
  • Newaygo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wiley, with the one closest to Wiley listed first.
    • Bitely
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Lilley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lilley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilley
      • Lilley is located in Newaygo County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lilley
      • From Wiley to Lilley
    • Huber
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Woodland Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Aetna
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Brohman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Ramona
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • 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.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramona
      • Ramona is located in Newaygo County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ramona
      • From Wiley to Ramona
  • Oceana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wiley, with the one closest to Wiley listed first.
    • Pentwater
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • French Town
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for French Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Town
      • French Town is located in Oceana County
    • Elbridge
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • 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.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbridge
      • Elbridge is located in Oceana County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elbridge
      • From Wiley to Elbridge
    • Hart
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hart have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <1>
    • Walkerville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Cobmoosa
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • 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.<2>
      • 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 Wiley to Cobmoosa
    • Mears
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Shelby
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Ferry
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • New Era
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Era have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <1>
    • Hesperia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hesperia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <1>
    • Rothbury
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Camp Claybanks ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Wiley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wiley.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wiley, with the one closest to Wiley 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Wiley had a population of 35 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Fern
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fern have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern
    • Fern is located in Mason County
    • Fern has also been known as:
    • Adamsville
  • Riverton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton
    • Riverton is located in Mason County
  • Scottville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Amber
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Crystal Valley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Valley
    • Crystal Valley is located in Oceana County
  • Custer
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Sugar Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Pentwater
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Ludington
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Buttersville ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Hart
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hart have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <1>
  • Elbridge
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • 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.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbridge
    • Elbridge is located in Oceana County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Elbridge
    • From Wiley to Elbridge
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Tallman
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tallman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallman
      • Tallman is located in Mason County
      • Tallman has also been known as:
      • Weaver
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tallman
      • From Wiley to Tallman
    • Batcheller ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Batcheller. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batcheller
      • Batcheller is located in Mason County
      • Batcheller has also been known as:
      • Turtle Lake
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Batcheller
      • From Wiley to Batcheller
    • Cobmoosa
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • 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.<2>
      • 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 Wiley to Cobmoosa

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

Newspapers Published in Wiley ...

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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wiley.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wiley, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wiley.

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 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 Wiley:

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

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>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>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>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- Wiley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wiley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.8612, Longitude: -86.2783    
<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 Wiley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025