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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 Colgate (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 Colgate. 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.

Colgate is located in Steele County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Steele County: Barnes, Cass, Grand Forks, Griggs, Nelson & Traill.

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

  • Steele County     (The home county of Colgate)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colgate, with the one closest to Colgate listed first.
    • Hope
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Luverne
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Sherbrooke
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Sherbrooke is located in Steele County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherbrooke
    • Finley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Sharon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Barnes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colgate, with the one closest to Colgate listed first.
    • Pillsbury
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Pillsbury is located in Barnes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pillsbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11 people
    • Sibley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Sibley is located in Barnes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sibley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 28 people
    • Ashtabula ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Ashtabula is located in Barnes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashtabula
    • Oriska
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Dazey
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • North Valley City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • North Valley City is located in Barnes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Valley City
    • Valley City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Rogers
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colgate, with the one closest to Colgate listed first.
    • Page
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Nolan ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Nolan is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nolan
    • Erie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Ayr
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hunter
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Buffalo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Tower City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Absaraka
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Arthur
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Magnolia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Magnolia is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
    • Amenia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Wheatland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Griggs County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colgate, with the one closest to Colgate listed first.
    • Cooperstown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Hannaford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Walum
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Walum is located in Griggs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walum
  • Traill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colgate, with the one closest to Colgate listed first.
    • Galesburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Clifford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Roseville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Roseville is located in Traill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
    • Greenfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Greenfield is located in Traill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
    • Blanchard
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Portland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Mayville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Hatton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Alton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Alton is located in Traill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
    • Hillsboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Kelso
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Kelso is located in Traill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelso
    • Grandin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Colgate ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Colgate.

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 Colgate - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Hope Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Page Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Minnie Lake Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Elm River Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Pederson Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Morton Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Lund Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lund Cemetery
    • The Lund Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Peterson Cemetery
  • Luverne Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Erie Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Clifford Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Sherbrooke Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • St. Petri Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (50 more) ...
    • Severson Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Bethany Lutheran Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Ebenezer Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)

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 Colgate had a population of 42 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Hope
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Page
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Galesburg
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Clifford
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Sherbrooke
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Sherbrooke is located in Steele County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherbrooke
  • Pickert
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Pickert is located in Steele County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickert
  • Ayr
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Ashtabula ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Ashtabula is located in Barnes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashtabula
  • Roseville
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Roseville is located in Traill County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
  • Hunter
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Greenfield
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Greenfield is located in Traill County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
  • Blanchard
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Murray
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Murray is located in Traill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray
    • Oriska
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Tower City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Colgate ...

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 47 newspapers that have been published in the area around Colgate.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Colgate, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Colgate.

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 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 Colgate:

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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Colgate) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<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 Colgate, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.