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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 Zeeland (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 Zeeland. 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 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.

Zeeland is located in Ottawa 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 Ottawa County: Allegan, Kent & Muskegon.

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

  • Ottawa County     (The home county of Zeeland)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zeeland, with the one closest to Zeeland listed first.
    • Noordeloos
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noordeloos
      • Noordeloos is located in Ottawa County
    • Waverly
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waverly have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
      • Waverly is located in Ottawa County
    • Drenthe
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Drenthe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenthe
      • Drenthe is located in Ottawa County
    • Holland
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Beechwood
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beechwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood
      • Beechwood is located in Ottawa County
    • Forest Grove Station
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove Station
      • Forest Grove Station is located in Ottawa County
    • South Blendon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Blendon
      • South Blendon is located in Ottawa County
    • Hudsonville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jamestown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
      • Jamestown is located in Ottawa County
    • Bauer
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bauer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauer
      • Bauer is located in Ottawa County
    • West Olive
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Olive have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Olive
      • West Olive is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Olive <2>
    • Macatawa
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Port Sheldon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Sheldon
      • Port Sheldon is located in Ottawa County
  • Allegan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zeeland, with the one closest to Zeeland listed first.
    • Fillmore
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
      • Fillmore is located in Allegan County
    • Graafschap
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graafschap
      • Graafschap is located in Allegan County
    • Hamilton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Burnips
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnips
      • Burnips is located in Allegan County
      • Former name for Burnips:
      • Burnip's Corners
    • Diamond Springs
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Springs
      • Diamond Springs is located in Allegan County
    • New Salem
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
      • New Salem is located in Allegan County
    • Singapore ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Singapore have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Singapore
      • Singapore is located in Allegan County
    • Douglas
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Saugatuck
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saugatuck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saugatuck
      • Saugatuck is located in Allegan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saugatuck <2>
    • Fennville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Dorr
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Hilliards
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilliards
      • Hilliards is located in Allegan County
    • Ganges
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ganges
      • Ganges is located in Allegan County
  • Barry County
    • Middleville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middleville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleville
      • Middleville is located in Barry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,510 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Middleville <2>
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zeeland, with the one closest to Zeeland listed first.
    • North Dorr
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Dorr have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dorr
      • North Dorr is located in Kent County
    • Byron Center
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Grandville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Burlingame Heights
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame Heights
      • Burlingame Heights is located in Kent County
    • Burlingame
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
      • Burlingame is located in Kent County
    • Carlisle
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carlisle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
      • Carlisle is located in Kent County
    • Clyde Park
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde Park
      • Clyde Park is located in Kent County
    • Beverly
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
      • Beverly is located in Kent County
    • Wyoming
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Corinth
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corinth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
      • Corinth is located in Kent County
    • Cutlerville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cutlerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutlerville
      • Cutlerville is located in Kent County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cutlerville <2>
    • Galewood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galewood
      • Galewood is located in Kent County
    • Kinney
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kinney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinney
      • Kinney is located in Kent County
  • Muskegon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zeeland, with the one closest to Zeeland listed first.
    • Fruitport
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fruitport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitport
      • Fruitport is located in Muskegon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,165 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fruitport <2>
    • Sullivan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
      • Sullivan is located in Muskegon County
    • Ravenna
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ravenna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenna
      • Ravenna is located in Muskegon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,276 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ravenna <2>
    • Norton Shores
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norton Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton Shores
      • Norton Shores is located in Muskegon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 24,623 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norton Shores <2>
    • Morgan Corners
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morgan Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Corners
      • Morgan Corners is located in Muskegon County
    • Muskegon Heights
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Roosevelt Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Canada Corners
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Corners
      • Canada Corners is located in Muskegon County
    • Wolf Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolf Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
      • Wolf Lake is located in Muskegon County
  • Van Buren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zeeland, with the one closest to Zeeland listed first.
    • Bloomingdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Grand Junction
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Kibbie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibbie
      • Kibbie is located in Van Buren County
    • Lacota
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacota
      • Lacota is located in Van Buren County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Zeeland ...

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 173 newspapers that have been published in the area around Zeeland.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Zeeland. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Zeeland and those printed in the larger area surrounding Zeeland.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<3> of Zeeland.

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 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 Zeeland:

Cemeteries Near Zeeland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Zeeland.

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

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

  • Zeeland Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • New Groningen Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Groningen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Groningen Cemetery
  • Roselawn Memorial Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Roselawn Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Roselawn Memorial Gardens
  • West Drenthe Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Noordeloos Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Noordeloos Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Noordeloos Cemetery
  • East Holland Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Holland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Holland Cemetery
  • Old Vriesland Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Vriesland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Vriesland Cemetery
  • Vriesland Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Borculo Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Borculo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Borculo Cemetery
  • Pilgrim Home Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Pilgrim Home Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Holland.
    • The Pilgrim Home Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Holland Twp. Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pilgrim Home Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1371 <4>
  • Van Dam Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Van Dam Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Van Dam Family Cemetery
  • Old Drenthe Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Drenthe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Drenthe Cemetery
  • Continue List   (230 more) ...
    • Beaverdam Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beaverdam Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beaverdam Cemetery
    • North Holland Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Holland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Holland Cemetery
    • Old Overisel Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Overisel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Overisel 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Zeeland had a population of 785 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Zeeland had a population of 5,522 people.

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

  • Noordeloos
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noordeloos
    • Noordeloos is located in Ottawa County
  • Vriesland
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vriesland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vriesland
    • Vriesland is located in Ottawa County
  • Beaverdam
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaverdam have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaverdam
    • Beaverdam is located in Ottawa County
  • Holland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Drenthe
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Drenthe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenthe
    • Drenthe is located in Ottawa County
  • New Holland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Holland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Holland
    • New Holland is located in Ottawa County
  • Overisel
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Overisel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overisel
    • Overisel is located in Allegan County
  • Borculo
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Borculo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borculo
    • Borculo is located in Ottawa County
  • Fillmore
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
    • Fillmore is located in Allegan County
  • Graafschap
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graafschap
    • Graafschap is located in Allegan County
  • Oakland
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
    • Oakland is located in Allegan County
  • Olive Center
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olive Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olive Center
    • Olive Center is located in Ottawa County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Zutphen
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zutphen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zutphen
      • Zutphen is located in Ottawa County
    • South Blendon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Blendon
      • South Blendon is located in Ottawa County
    • Forest Grove
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove
      • Forest Grove is located in Ottawa County

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

The official website for Zeeland: www.ci.zeeland.mi.us/

The official website for Ottawa County: www.co.ottawa.mi.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 from Point A (ie- Zeeland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Zeeland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.8123, Longitude: -86.0190    
<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 Zeeland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024