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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 Beach Ridge (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 Beach Ridge. 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 Beach Ridge ...

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 Beach Ridge: Beach Rdg. (or less commonly used: Beach Rdge. or Beach Ridg.)

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 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.

Beach Ridge is located in Niagara County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Niagara County: Erie, Genesee & Orleans.

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

  • Niagara County     (The home county of Beach Ridge)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beach Ridge, with the one closest to Beach Ridge listed first.
    • Hoffman
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoffman
      • Hoffman is located in Niagara County
    • Pendleton Center
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pendleton Center. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pendleton Center
      • Pendleton Center is located in Niagara County
    • Martinsville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Martinsville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsville
      • Martinsville is located in Niagara County
    • Wurlitzer Park Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wurlitzer Park Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurlitzer Park Village
      • Wurlitzer Park Village is located in Niagara County
    • North Tonawanda
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Tonawanda
      • North Tonawanda is located in Niagara County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 30,050 people
    • Saint Johnsburg
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johnsburg
      • Saint Johnsburg is located in Niagara County
    • Park Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Village
      • Park Village is located in Niagara County
    • Bergholtz
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bergholtz. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bergholtz
      • Bergholtz is located in Niagara County
    • Lockport Junction
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lockport Junction. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockport Junction
      • Lockport Junction is located in Niagara County
    • Pekin
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pekin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pekin
      • Pekin is located in Niagara County
    • Black Creek Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Creek Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek Village
      • Black Creek Village is located in Niagara County
    • South Lockport
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Lockport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lockport
      • South Lockport is located in Niagara County
    • Colonial Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colonial Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
      • Colonial Village is located in Niagara County
  • Erie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beach Ridge, with the one closest to Beach Ridge listed first.
    • Getzville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Tonawanda
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Amherst
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Swormville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swormville
      • Swormville is located in Erie County
    • Kenmore
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Wolcottsburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolcottsburg
      • Wolcottsburg is located in Erie County
    • Williamsville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsville
      • Williamsville is located in Erie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,171 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Williamsville <3>
    • Grandyle Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grandyle Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandyle Village
      • Grandyle Village is located in Erie County
    • Clarence Center
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarence Center have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence Center
      • Clarence Center is located in Erie County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarence Center <3>
    • Ferry Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ferry Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferry Village
      • Ferry Village is located in Erie County
    • Harris Hill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Hill
      • Harris Hill is located in Erie County
    • Cheektowaga
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Bowmansville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bowmansville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowmansville
      • Bowmansville is located in Erie County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bowmansville <3>
  • Genesee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beach Ridge, with the one closest to Beach Ridge listed first.
    • Amherst
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
      • Amherst is located in Genesee County
    • Alabama
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabama
      • Alabama is located in Genesee County
    • Basom
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Indian Falls
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Indian Falls. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Falls
      • Indian Falls is located in Genesee County
    • Corfu
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • North Pembroke
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for North Pembroke. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Pembroke
      • North Pembroke is located in Genesee County
    • Wheatville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatville
      • Wheatville is located in Genesee County
    • Sawens
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sawens. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawens
      • Sawens is located in Genesee County
    • Oakfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Griswold
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Griswold. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griswold
      • Griswold is located in Genesee County
    • Ridgewood Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ridgewood Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgewood Village
      • Ridgewood Village is located in Genesee County
    • Bushville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushville
      • Bushville is located in Genesee County
  • Orleans County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beach Ridge, with the one closest to Beach Ridge listed first.
    • Jeddo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeddo
      • Jeddo is located in Orleans County
    • Lakewood Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakewood Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Village
      • Lakewood Village is located in Orleans County
    • Medina
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Lyndonville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • West Barre
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Barre
      • West Barre is located in Orleans County
    • Shadigee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadigee
      • Shadigee is located in Orleans County
    • Eagle Harbor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Harbor
      • Eagle Harbor is located in Orleans County
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beach Ridge, with the one closest to Beach Ridge listed first.
    • Folsomdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsomdale
      • Folsomdale is located in Wyoming County
    • Harris Corners
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Corners
      • Harris Corners is located in Wyoming County

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

Cemeteries Near Beach Ridge ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Beach Ridge.

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

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

  • Beach Ridge Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beach Ridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beach Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Marks Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marks Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Friedens Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Friedens Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Friedens Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Matthews Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Matthews Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Matthews Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Acacia Park Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Bear Ridge Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • St. Martin's Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Martin's Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Martin's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • White Chapel Memorial Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the White Chapel Memorial Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the White Chapel Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairmount Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairmount Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairmount Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wheatfield Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wheatfield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wheatfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bear Ridge - Ridgeville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (308 more) ...
    • St. Johns Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • 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.
    • Good Shepherd Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Good Shepherd Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Good Shepherd Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Pendleton Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pendleton Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pendleton 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 in 1895, Beach Ridge had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Hoffman
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoffman
    • Hoffman is located in Niagara County
  • Martinsville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Martinsville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsville
    • Martinsville is located in Niagara County
  • Wendelville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wendelville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendelville
    • Wendelville is located in Niagara County
  • Pendleton Center
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pendleton Center. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pendleton Center
    • Pendleton Center is located in Niagara County
  • Mapleton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mapleton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapleton
    • Mapleton is located in Niagara County
  • Shawnee
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shawnee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawnee
    • Shawnee is located in Niagara County
  • North Tonawanda
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Tonawanda
    • North Tonawanda is located in Niagara County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 30,050 people
  • Saint Johnsburg
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johnsburg
    • Saint Johnsburg is located in Niagara County
  • Pendleton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pendleton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pendleton
    • Pendleton is located in Niagara County
  • Sanborn
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sanborn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanborn
    • Sanborn is located in Niagara County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sanborn <3>
  • Bergholtz
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bergholtz. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bergholtz
    • Bergholtz is located in Niagara County
  • Tonawanda
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Getzville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Millersport
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millersport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersport
      • Millersport is located in Erie County
    • Pekin
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pekin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pekin
      • Pekin is located in Niagara County

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

Newspapers Published in Beach Ridge ...

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 290 newspapers that have been published in the area around Beach Ridge.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Beach Ridge, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Beach Ridge.

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 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 Beach Ridge:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Beach Ridge. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Niagara County: www.niagaracounty.com/

The official website for State of New York: https://www.ny.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 Beach Ridge, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Beach Ridge) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Beach Ridge. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.0848, Longitude: -78.8231       In this case, the coordinates for Beach Ridge have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025