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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 Ypsilanti (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 Ypsilanti. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.

Ypsilanti is located in Washtenaw 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 Washtenaw County: Jackson, Lenawee, Livingston, Monroe, Oakland & Wayne.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Ypsilanti ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ypsilanti.

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

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

  • St. Luke's Episcopal Church Cloister Garth Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Luke's Episcopal Church Cloister Garth Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Luke's Episcopal Church Cloister Garth Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • First Presbyterian Church Memorial Garden
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the First Presbyterian Church Memorial Garden
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the First Presbyterian Church Memorial Garden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Highland Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Spencer Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spencer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spencer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Comstock Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Comstock Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Comstock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Union - Udell Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union - Udell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union - Udell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Terhune Graveyard
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Terhune Graveyard
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Terhune Graveyard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Denton Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Denton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Denton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Botsford Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Botsford Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Botsford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Harwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (407 more) ...
    • Oak Grove Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Grove Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Alban Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Alban Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Alban Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Denton Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Denton Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Denton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Ypsilanti had a population of 6,129 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Ypsilanti had a population of 19,940 people.

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

  • Rawsonville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Geddes
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geddes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geddes
    • Geddes is located in Washtenaw County
  • Denton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Denton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denton
    • Denton is located in Wayne County
  • Dixboro
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Pittsfield
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pittsfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsfield
    • Pittsfield is located in Washtenaw County
    • Pittsfield has also been known as:
    • Pittsfield Village
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Pittsfield
    • From Ypsilanti to Pittsfield
  • Stony Creek
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Willis
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willis
    • Willis is located in Washtenaw County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Willis <3>
  • Ann Arbor
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Belleville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belleville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleville
    • Belleville is located in Wayne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,865 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Belleville <3>
  • Canton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Whittaker
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Emery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Emery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emery
    • Emery is located in Washtenaw County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Emery
    • From Ypsilanti to Emery
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Saline
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • West Sumpter
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Sumpter have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Sumpter
      • West Sumpter is located in Wayne County
    • Martinsville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martinsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsville
      • Martinsville is located in Wayne County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ypsilanti ...

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 275 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ypsilanti.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ypsilanti. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ypsilanti and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ypsilanti.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<6> of Ypsilanti.

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 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 Ypsilanti:

The official website for Ypsilanti: www.cityofypsilanti.com/

The official website for Washtenaw County: www.ewashtenaw.org/

The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Ypsilanti, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Ypsilanti) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ypsilanti. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2436, Longitude: -83.6174    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025