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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 Fort Morgan (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 Fort Morgan. 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 Fort Morgan ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Fort Morgan: Ft. Morgan

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.

Fort Morgan is located in Morgan County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of Colorado's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Morgan County: Adams, Logan, Washington & Weld.

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

  • Morgan County     (The home county of Fort Morgan)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Morgan, with the one closest to Fort Morgan listed first.
    • Log Lane Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Log Lane Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Log Lane Village
      • Log Lane Village is located in Morgan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 848 people
    • Brush
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Weldona
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Snyder
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snyder have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snyder
      • Snyder is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Snyder <2>
    • Twelvemile Corner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Wiggins
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Hillrose
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillrose have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillrose
      • Hillrose is located in Morgan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hillrose <2>
    • Orchard
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orchard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard
      • Orchard is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orchard <2>
    • Hoyt
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Adams County
    • Shamrock
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shamrock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock
      • Shamrock is located in Adams County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Shamrock
      • From Fort Morgan to Shamrock
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Morgan, with the one closest to Fort Morgan listed first.
    • Willard ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Willard. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
      • Willard is located in Logan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Willard
      • From Fort Morgan to Willard
    • Merino
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Morgan, with the one closest to Fort Morgan listed first.
    • Pinneo ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pinneo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinneo
      • Pinneo is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pinneo
      • From Fort Morgan to Pinneo
    • Midway ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Midway. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
      • Midway is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Midway
      • From Fort Morgan to Midway
    • Woodrow
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Messex
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Xenia ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Xenia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Xenia
      • Xenia is located in Washington County
      • Xenia has also been known as:
      • Cody
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Xenia
      • From Fort Morgan to Xenia
    • Rago ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rago. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rago
      • Rago is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rago
      • From Fort Morgan to Rago
  • Weld County

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

Cemeteries Near Fort Morgan ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fort Morgan.

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

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

  • Riverside Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Presbyterian Church Columbarium
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Presbyterian Church Columbarium
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Presbyterian Church Columbarium have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Eben - Ezer Lutheran Care Center Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eben - Ezer Lutheran Care Center Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eben - Ezer Lutheran Care Center Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brush Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brush Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brush Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • J. L. Brush Memorial Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the J. L. Brush Memorial Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the J. L. Brush Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Weldona Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Weldona Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Weldona Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wiggins Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wiggins Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wiggins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Adena Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Adena Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Adena Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hoyt Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hoyt Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hoyt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Merino Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Merino Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Merino Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Prairie View Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
  • Christian Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Raymer Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Prairie Lawn Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prairie Lawn Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Prairie Lawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Swan Cemetery
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Swan Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Swan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Fort Morgan had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Fort Morgan had a population of 11,249 people.

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

  • Brush
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Goodrich
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goodrich have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodrich
    • Goodrich is located in Morgan County
  • Pinneo ‑ Historic
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pinneo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinneo
    • Pinneo is located in Washington County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Pinneo
    • From Fort Morgan to Pinneo
  • Balzac
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Balzac have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balzac
    • Balzac is located in Morgan County
  • Masters
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Masters have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masters
    • Masters is located in Weld County
  • Raymer
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • Stoneham
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stoneham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneham
    • Stoneham is located in Weld County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stoneham <2>
  • Willard ‑ Historic
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Willard. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
    • Willard is located in Logan County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Willard
    • From Fort Morgan to Willard
  • Buckingham ‑ Historic
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buckingham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckingham
    • Buckingham is located in Weld County
  • Merino
    (28 miles [45.1 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 Fort Morgan. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fort Morgan.

Newspapers Published in Fort Morgan ...

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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fort Morgan.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fort Morgan, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fort Morgan.

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 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 Fort Morgan:

The official website for Fort Morgan: www.cityoffortmorgan.com/

The official website for State of Colorado: https://www.colorado.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>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.
<4>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 Fort Morgan, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Fort Morgan) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fort Morgan. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.2540, Longitude: -103.8015    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025