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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 Wolf Lake (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 Wolf Lake. 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 Wolf Lake ...

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 occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Wolf Lake: Wolf Lk.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Wolf Lake. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Wolf Lake.

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.

Wolf Lake is located in Muskegon 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 Muskegon County: Kent, Newaygo, Oceana & Ottawa.

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

  • Muskegon County     (The home county of Wolf Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wolf Lake, with the one closest to Wolf Lake listed first.
    • Sullivan
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Sullivan is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
    • Morgan Corners
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Morgan Corners is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Corners
    • Muskegon
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Twin Lake
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Muskegon Heights
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Dalton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Dalton is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton
    • North Muskegon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Fruitport
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Ravenna
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Norton Shores
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Roosevelt Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Slocum
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Slocum is located in Muskegon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slocum
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wolf Lake, with the one closest to Wolf Lake listed first.
    • Casnovia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Lisbon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Lisbon is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
    • Kent City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Sparta
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Kinney
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Kinney is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinney
    • Comstock Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Walker
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Belmont
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Cedar Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Edgerton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Edgerton is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
    • Grandville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Northview
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Northview is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northview
  • Newaygo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wolf Lake, with the one closest to Wolf Lake listed first.
    • Sitka
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Sitka is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
    • Bridgeton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Bridgeton is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
    • Brookside
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Brookside is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
    • Reeman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Reeman is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeman
    • Ashland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Ashland is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
    • Bishop
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Bishop is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
    • Grant
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Fremont
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Fremont is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,102 people
      • Former name for Fremont:
      • Fremont Center
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fremont <1>
    • Newaygo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Sun
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Sun is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun
    • Wooster
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Wooster is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooster
    • Aetna
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Aetna is located in Newaygo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aetna
  • Oceana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wolf Lake, with the one closest to Wolf Lake listed first.
    • Hesperia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Rothbury
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Ferry
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Ferry is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferry
    • New Era
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Camp Claybanks ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Camp Claybanks is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Claybanks
    • Shelby
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Cobmoosa
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Cobmoosa is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobmoosa
      • Cobmoosa has also been known as:
      • Cob Moo Sa
    • Elbridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Elbridge is located in Oceana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbridge
  • Ottawa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wolf Lake, with the one closest to Wolf Lake listed first.
    • Nunica
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Ferrysburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Spring Lake
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Conklin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Grand Haven
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Coopersville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Robinson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Robinson is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
    • Eastmanville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Eastmanville is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastmanville
    • Wright
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Wright is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
    • Lamont
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Lamont is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
    • Agnew
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Agnew is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
    • Marne
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Wolf Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wolf Lake.

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 Wolf Lake - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Egelston Twp. Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Shady Rest Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Horton Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Forest Home Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Sunrise Memorial Gardens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Chidester Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Anthonys Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Restlawn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Restlawn Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Restlawn Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Muskegon.
    • The Restlawn Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Greenwood Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1461 <2>
  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Sullivan Twp. Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (185 more) ...
    • Moorland Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • St. Marys Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Mona View Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)

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 Wolf Lake in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wolf Lake.

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

  • Cloverville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cloverville is located in Muskegon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverville
  • Sullivan
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Sullivan is located in Muskegon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
  • Muskegon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Moorland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Moorland is located in Muskegon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorland
  • Muskegon Heights
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Twin Lake
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Dalton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Dalton is located in Muskegon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton
  • North Muskegon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Fruitport
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Ravenna
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Bridgeton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Bridgeton is located in Newaygo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
  • Holton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Ferrysburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Nunica
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Harrisburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Harrisburg is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg

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

Newspapers Published in Wolf Lake ...

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 Wolf Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wolf Lake, 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 Wolf Lake.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Wolf Lake:

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 Wolf Lake, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Wolf Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.