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 Wise (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 Wise. 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 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.
Wise is located in Isabella 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 Isabella County: Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot, Mecosta, Midland, Montcalm & Osceola.
Below are the counties that are near Wise. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wise:
- Isabella County (The home county of Wise)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wise, with the one closest to Wise listed first.
- Loomis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Loomis is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loomis
- Jordan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jordan is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
- Rosebush
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Vernon City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Vernon City is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon City
- Alembic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Alembic is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alembic
- Mount Pleasant
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Beal City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Beal City is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beal City
- Shepherd
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Crawford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Crawford is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Weidman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Coe
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Coe is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coe
- Brinton
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Brinton is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brinton
- Lake Isabella
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Lake Isabella is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Isabella
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,688 people
- Lake Isabella has also been known as:
- Lake Isabella village
- Bay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wise, with the one closest to Wise listed first.
- Duel
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Duel is located in Bay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duel
- Willard
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Willard is located in Bay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
- Fisherville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Fisherville is located in Bay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisherville
- Seidlers
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Seidlers is located in Bay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seidlers
- Mount Forest
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Forest is located in Bay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Forest
- Bentley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bentley is located in Bay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bentley
- Auburn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Nine Mile
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Nine Mile is located in Bay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nine Mile
- Clare County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wise, with the one closest to Wise listed first.
- Clare
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Dover
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dover is located in Clare County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
- Farwell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hatton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hatton is located in Clare County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Lake is located in Clare County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake
- Former name for Lake:
- Lake Station
- Allendale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Allendale is located in Clare County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allendale
- Harrison
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Lake George
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lake George is located in Clare County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake George
- Meredith
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Meredith is located in Clare County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith
- Gladwin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wise, with the one closest to Wise listed first.
- Beaverton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Gladwin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Highwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Highwood is located in Gladwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highwood
- White Star
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- White Star is located in Gladwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Star
- Wooden Shoe Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wooden Shoe Village is located in Gladwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooden Shoe Village
- Rhodes
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rhodes is located in Gladwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes
- Sugar Rapids
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sugar Rapids is located in Gladwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Rapids
- Butman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Butman is located in Gladwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butman
- Gratiot County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wise, with the one closest to Wise listed first.
- Forest Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Forest Hill is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hill
- North Wheeler
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- North Wheeler is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wheeler
- Saint Louis
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Breckenridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Alma
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Elwell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Wheeler
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Wheeler is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
- Riverdale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Elm Hall
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Elm Hall is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Hall
- Ithaca
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Sumner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Sumner is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumner
- Mecosta County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wise, with the one closest to Wise listed first.
- Barryton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Millbrook
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Millbrook is located in Mecosta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millbrook
- Remus
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Mecosta
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Midland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wise, with the one closest to Wise listed first.
- Coleman
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Alamando
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Alamando is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamando
- North Bradley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- North Bradley is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bradley
- Oil City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Oil City is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
- Sanford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Edenville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Edenville is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edenville
- Averill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Averill is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Averill
- Hope
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Porter
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Porter is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Redstone
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Redstone is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
- Midland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Ryan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ryan is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan
- Montcalm County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wise, with the one closest to Wise listed first.
- Vestaburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Vestaburg is located in Montcalm County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vestaburg
- Cedar Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Lake is located in Montcalm County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
- Wyman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wyman is located in Montcalm County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
- Edmore
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Osceola County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wise, with the one closest to Wise listed first.
- Chippewa Station ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Chippewa Station is located in Osceola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chippewa Station
- Orient
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Orient is located in Osceola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orient
- Sears
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saginaw County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wise, with the one closest to Wise listed first.
- Iva
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Iva is located in Saginaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iva
- Merrill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Freeland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hemlock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lakefield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lakefield is located in Saginaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakefield
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wise, see our County-by-County Page for Wise.
Cemeteries Near Wise ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wise.
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 Wise - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wise covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wise, with the one closest to Wise listed first.
- River Lawn Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Warren Twp. Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Wise Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bissing Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- St. Henrys Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Vernon Twp. Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Woodland Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Cemetery
- The Woodland Cemetery has also been known as:
- Isabella Twp. Cemetery
- Woodland Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Indian Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Pleasant Memorial Gardens
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Kelly Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Geneva Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (164 more) ...
- Geneva Community Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Cherry Grove Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- St. Cecilia Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
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 in 1895, Wise had a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wise, with the one closest to Wise listed first.
- Delwin
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Delwin is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delwin
- Coleman
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Loomis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Loomis is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loomis
- Leaton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Leaton is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaton
- Alamando
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Alamando is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamando
- Jordan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jordan is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
- North Bradley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- North Bradley is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bradley
- Clare
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Alembic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Alembic is located in Isabella County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alembic
- Mount Pleasant
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dover
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dover is located in Clare County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
- Saint Elmo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Elmo is located in Midland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Sanford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Beaverton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Farwell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wise. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wise.
Newspapers Published in Wise ...
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 133 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wise.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wise, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wise.
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 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 Wise:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Isabella County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bay County
- Clare County
- Gladwin County
- Gratiot County
- Mecosta County
- Midland County
- Montcalm County
- Osceola County
- Saginaw County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Michigan
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 Wise, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Wise) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |