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 Americus (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 Americus. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
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 north 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.
Americus is located in Chaffee County.
To see how the shape of Colorado's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Chaffee County: Fremont, Gunnison, Lake, Park, Pitkin & Saguache.
Below are the counties that are near Americus. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Americus:
- Chaffee County (The home county of Americus)
- The following are listed by their distance from Americus, with the one closest to Americus listed first.
- Pine Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Creek is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Creek
- Buena Vista
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Johnson Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Granite
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hawkinsville ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hawkinsville is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkinsville
- Nathrop
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Vicksburg ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Vicksburg is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vicksburg
- Vicksburg has also been known as:
- Vicksburg Mining Camp
- Banker Mine ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Banker Mine is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banker Mine
- Winfield ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Winfield is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winfield
- Iron City ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Iron City is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Saint Elmo ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Elmo is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
- Hancock ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hancock is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
- Gunnison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Americus, with the one closest to Americus listed first.
- Abbeyville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Abbeyville is located in Gunnison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbeyville
- Former name for Abbeyville:
- Hillerton
- Tincup
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Tincup is located in Gunnison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tincup
- Pieplant ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Pieplant is located in Gunnison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pieplant
- Pieplant has also been known as:
- Pie Plant
- Pieplant Mill
- Pitkin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Whitepine
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Whitepine is located in Gunnison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitepine
- Whitepine has also been known as:
- White Pine
- Lake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Americus, with the one closest to Americus listed first.
- Low Pass ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Low Pass is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Pass
- Twin Lakes
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Oro City ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Oro City is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oro City
- Malta ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Malta is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
- Leadville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Park County
- The following are listed by their distance from Americus, with the one closest to Americus listed first.
- Horseshoe ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Horseshoe is located in Park County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horseshoe
- Hartsel
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fairplay
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Alma Junction
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Alma Junction is located in Park County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma Junction
- Alma
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Park City ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Park City is located in Park County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
- Pike - San Isabel Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Buckskin Joe ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Buckskin Joe is located in Park County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckskin Joe
- Pitkin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Americus, with the one closest to Americus listed first.
- Ruby ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Ruby is located in Pitkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
- Independence ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Independence is located in Pitkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
- Independence has also been known as:
- Chipeta
- Farwell
- Hunter's Pass
- Mammoth City
- Mount Hope
- Sparkill
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Americus, see our County-by-County Page for Americus.
Cemeteries Near Americus ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Americus.
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 Americus - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Americus covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Americus, with the one closest to Americus listed first.
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Granite Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Buffalo Springs Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Windfield Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Centerville Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Boothill Cemetery
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Tincup Cemetery
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hartsel Cemetery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Leadville City Cemetery
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Fairplay Cemetery
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Old Fairplay Cemetery
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Tomichi Cemetery
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Evergreen Cemetery
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Evergreen Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Leadville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #57260 <2>
- Leadville Hebrew Cemetery
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadville Hebrew Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Leadville Hebrew Cemetery is located outside and to the west of Leadville.
- The Leadville Hebrew Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hebrew Cemetery of Leadville
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2209837 <2>
- Odd Fellows Cemetery
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
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, Americus had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Americus, with the one closest to Americus listed first.
- Riverside
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Riverside is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Buena Vista
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Pine Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Creek is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Creek
- Nathrop
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Granite
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Haver ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Haver is located in Park County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haver
- Alpine ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Alpine is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
- Winfield ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Winfield is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winfield
- Saint Elmo ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Elmo is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
- Twin Lakes
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Tincup
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Tincup is located in Gunnison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tincup
- Romley ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Romley is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romley
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Garo ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Garo is located in Park County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garo
- Browns Canon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Browns Canon is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Canon
- Hartsel
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Americus. See our List of 1890's Communities around Americus.
Newspapers Published in Americus ...
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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Americus.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Americus, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Americus.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Americus:
- Websites specific to Colorado
- Pages specific to Chaffee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Gunnison County
- Lake County
- Park County
- Pitkin County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Colorado
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 Americus, 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 from Point A (ie- Americus) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |